Bronny James's Journey Towards The NBA Continues

Growing up as LeBron James’s son for Bronny could not have been easy, but let's face it: There are certainly some advantages to having James printed on the back of his jersey.

Case in point: getting invited to be 1 of 78 players to the NBA Draft Combine normally does not go to players who average under 5 points a game in under 20 minutes of play in his freshman year of college. That being said, there is nothing new or wrong with using a family connection to open up a job opportunity; for example, Ernie Johnson Jr. of Inside the NBA on TNT, whose path into broadcasting was made easier as his dad Ernie Johnson Sr. was a former MLB player turned legendary broadcaster on the Braves radio and television from 1962 to 1999.

Fathers and mothers have been opening doors for their kids since the dawn of time. Ultimately, it's not how or why the door was opened for Bronny; it will come down to what he does with it. 

Then there are the well-publicized stories about LeBron James, who wants to play with his son before he retires. Recently, LeBron has backpedaled on this.

“The idea of them playing together is not a priority, it's not foremost, at least any longer, in LeBron James' mind. Rich Paul's goal here in the pre-draft process for Bronny James is to see if there's the right developmental system or organization, a place that can take a young player like Bronny James, who went five months without playing after his heart episode certainly limited him in his season at USC. If he does go in the draft, he very likely would spend next year in the G League.” – said Adrian Wojnarowski 

“My dream has always just been to put my name out, make a name for myself, and of course, you know, get to the NBA,” Bronny told reporters in Chicago as the idea of the father playing alongside the son has been tempered.

“I never thought about just playing with my dad, but of course he’s, he’s brought it up a couple times. But yeah, I don’t think about it.”

Heading into the NBA Draft Combine, Bronny James received the normal amount of positive and negative attention that comes with being LeBron's son, but at this stage of his career, he must be used to it.

The one word used to describe Bronny’s performance from the NBA Draft combine is “draftable.”

So what do the Scouts say? Basically, it's a split decision, with some against and some in favor of James being drafted. 

It turns out Bronny performed well enough at the combine, leading ESPN to project him as a late second-round pick in its post-combine mock draft. 

Five anonymous NBA front-office executives, who either make draft picks or have significant input, told USA TODAY Sports they believe a team will draft James.  

"It's coming around again," USC guard and projected lottery pick Isaiah Collier told reporters. "It's taking a little bit of time, but Bronny's going to be real good. Y'all gone see real soon."

At this point, James has not decided if he will stay in college as he has until May 29th to keep his name in the NCAA transfer portal or decide to roll the dice in the upcoming NBA draft. 

"Wherever I'm happy, I feel like that's the best opportunity and situation that I want to be myself in," James told reporters. "Just wherever my heart wants me to (be), I feel like that's where I should be."

THE UNDERRATED OPINION
If Bronny is drafted into the NBA or signs a free-agency contract, he will most likely begin his NBA journey primarily playing in the G-League before getting a chance to be on an NBA bench full-time. 

From a skill set perspective, he definitely has enough raw talent on both sides of the ball to have a chance of building a future in the NBA, but like in most sports, his situation will go a long way in determining whether he can flourish in the NBA.  

Either way, you have to respect Bronny's efforts to make his dream of playing in the NBA come true.