Savannah James hypes up son Bronny James gunning for 2024 NBA draft
Savannah James proudly shared a report about her son Bronny James deciding to stay in the 2024 NBA Draft. Bronny, who spent a year with the USC Trojans, has opted to forgo his remaining college eligibility, according to Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul.
Paul informed ESPN ahead of the NCAA deadline that Bronny James will remain in the draft and will not return to college basketball.
Savannah shared the news in an Instagram story. See it below:
Bronny had a challenging college season after suffering a cardiac arrest. He averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 19.4 minutes per game for the Trojans.
Despite his underwhelming college performance, Bronny's draft stock has been rising since the Draft Combine. ESPN ranks him as the 54th best prospect in this year's NBA Draft.
During the combine, Bronny impressed with his shooting accuracy, hitting 78 percent of his shots in the side-mid-side 3-point shooting drill and going 19-for-25 in the 3-point star drill. Both ranked second best.
He also showed off his athleticism, recording a vertical leap of 40.5 inches and a 3.09 three-quarter-court sprint time.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Bronny received at least 10 workout invites from NBA teams but plans to visit only a few, including the LA Lakers and the Phoenix Suns. Charania mentioned that Bronny’s camp will consider guaranteed money and the developmental plan.
“The fact is that there's only going to be a couple teams, two or three teams, that Bronny James visits and the Lakers and Suns interestingly are among the two teams," he said.
The Suns have the No. 22 pick, while the Lakers hold the No. 55 pick.
Rich Paul talks about the dream situation for Bronny James
In an interview with ESPN, Rich Paul mentioned that Bronny James' draft range is broad, so his camp is seeking a team with a strong developmental plan.
"He's a really good prospect who has a lot of room for growth. It only takes one team. I don't care where that team is—it can be No. 1 or 58—[but] I do care about the plan, the development,” he said.
Bronny has consistently said he wants to establish his own identity rather than just being known as LeBron James' son.
"I'm a genuine person. I've gotten a lot of lessons from my mom and my dad. But also putting that 'Bronny James' narrative out there instead of just being LeBron James' son. I feel like that's really important for me," he said during the Draft Combine.
Paul emphasized that teams, including the Lakers, should respect Bronny for this.
It's obvious that people hear the conversation around the dad and son playing together, but that's not our focus. If it happens organically, great. I'm not building on that.