2 Surprising reasons why Bronny James is not ready for the NBA

The 2024 NBA Draft is now officially over and Bronny James is a Los Angeles Laker. With that being said, there is a lot of speculation on whether Bronny electing for the draft was a smart decision on his part or not. 

His college play proves he needs more time to develop.

One of the biggest reasons why Bronny James should have taken a step back from making this massive leap in his basketball career could not be more obvious. His college stats are disappointing, to say the least. James averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 19.4 minutes across only 25 appearances.

Of those 25 appearances, James only started six times and was also one of the last scoring options on his team. Anyone looking at these numbers can see plain as day that Bronny James could most certainly use another year playing for a good program or even going overseas for a year.

Now it is understandable to mention the fact that Bronny's college career was cut short due to a health complications in his heart. However, this is all the more reason why he needs more time at a lower level to strengthen his skills and prepare him for the pros.

The pressure on Bronny James to succeed is too much.

From the moment the Lakers selected Bronny James at the 55th pick in the NBA draft, social media went crazy by plastering his name with his father's. Most NBA fans are excited to see the first father and son duo play in the NBA. While it is okay to be anxious with anticipation, this pressure can be overwhelming for him. He may struggle severely and it is going to be extremely hard for him to live up to these high expectations placed on him.

Also, Bronny has stated on multiple occasions that he does not want to remain in the shadow of his father and has expressed the fact that he wants to make a name for himself. Bronny said it best when interviewed during the draft combine.

"Everything that follows my dad, people just try to link me with that and all the greatness he's achieved and I haven't done anything yet," Bronny stated. "So there needs to be that divide between Bronny and LeBron. I just want to let people know that my name is Bronny James and not being identified as LeBron James' son."

Being a James is a blessing and a curse at the same time. He has massive shoes to fill and there is an extremely high chance that he will not even come close to the accolades LeBron has achieved in his NBA career. In order for Bronny to even have a chance to blossom in the league he needs to be himself and play the game the way he knows how. At the end of the day, hopefully Bronny can prove all of the doubters wrong and show that he is indeed NBA ready.