The trajectory of Bronny James
The trajectory of Bronny James
Tracking the world's most famous high school player
BY DAVID THORPE
It’s been nearly six months since TrueHoop published one of our most successful articles ever: a David Thorpe scouting report on LeBron James’ namesake, the high school phenom known as “Bronny.”
Complete with Coach Thorpe’s unique analysis and NBA player comparisons, that feature is now free for everyone!
Sensing our readers were hungry for more, Coach Thorpe has been immersing himself in available footage over the past month in order to offer this updated assessment of how Bronny James is doing—and where his game might be taking him.
There’s a school of thought that says emotions should play no part in evaluating or projecting talent.
That’s not how I roll.
Whether I’m working with a player who wants an NBA contract or an All-Star striving for an even bigger payday, I tell them the same thing I would tell teenagers shooting for a collegiate scholarship: “Don’t just let them see your talent. Make them feel it.”
I watched Bronny James film from this summer’s AAU calendar with that same perspective. And guess what? I feel him.
His effortless passes to open teammates as the sideline throngs are raising their phones just to see him score.
His immediate transitions to defense, instead of celebrations, after scoring big buckets…
His easy smile…
Bronny is a player I’d love to call “one of mine” because he carries himself so maturely despite being only 17. His parents and the people who are helping to guide him as a player and a person have much to be proud of.
That said, Bronny aims to be a great player, like his father before him. Coaches from great college programs are evaluating him to see if he can help them win games in a year. Some NBA personnel are doing the same, wondering what kind of player he’ll be the year after.
With that in mind, here are a few things I wrote back in February, paired with what I have been able to see from this summer’s game tapes.
What I wrote then:
Bronny is powerfully built with good size for a combo guard. He has exceptional speed side to side when his team presses, and when racing on the break. I would like to see more racing when he doesn’t have the ball in his hands.
What I think now:
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