Draft Bronny

Every pick is a long-term play

BY DAVID THORPE

EZRA SHAW/GETTY IMAGES

I once did NBA pre-draft training for a player who had a sterling high school career—Gatorade Player of the Year, and a first-team McDonald’s All-American—and ran the point for his AAU team’s super-fast offense. He was a solid player for a good team in his one college season, but he didn’t play much at his natural lead-guard position, so his considerable playmaking skills went mostly untapped. He averaged just over eight points a game, had a poor assist-to-turnover ratio, and hit less than 31 percent of his 3s. Thus, he hoped to get drafted off his prep accolades.

To me, this player was worthy of a top-10 pick. I believed that, as he got into his 20s and beyond, he’d end up being a longtime starter with All-Star potential. He had a power forward’s build in a point guard’s body and figured to become a dominating defensive player as he matured. 

No lottery teams agreed with me. It took a leap of faith for the Sixers to use the 17th pick to select Jrue Holiday, who is easily one of the five best players from a 2009 draft that also welcomed Blake Griffin, Stephen Curry, James Harden, and DeMar DeRozan into the league. 

One big reason I’d enthusiastically draft Bronny James: he reminds me of Holiday in that very little of his talent is evident from his single college season. TrueHoop readers are familiar with my enthusiasm for Bronny: After all, we’ve been evaluating his talent since he was in high school. Bronny’s talent is years away from taking hold in the NBA, but it exists.

It’s impossible to know all the facts about Bronny’s heart condition other than the NBA has declared him medically eligible. Assuming that issue is settled, I’m going to focus solely on his talent. 

The world loves Bronny today, now that he has scored elite numbers for 3-point shooting and vertical at the draft combine in Chicago. To be honest, we started working on this article before any of that, because it only confirms what we already know: He’s a guy with a lot of tools and a clear willingness to work.