"Will pack G League arenas" - NBA insider fuels Bronny James' draft prospects citing his $3.7 million NIL's financial impact
Bronny James has been medically cleared to play in the NBA and is expected to participate in the draft combine. He suffered a cardiac arrest last summer, underwent a procedure and eventually played for USC. A league insider recently discussed his draft prospects and how his NIL deals could make an impact.
In a recent episode of "NBA Today" on ESPN, Adrian Wojnarowski and Bobby Marks detailed James' draft stock. Wojnarowski believes that LeBron James' son will be a late first or early second-round pick. He also pointed out how Bronny and the G League can benefit from each other.
"Bronny James is going to have an impact for organizations, not just on the basketball side but potentially on the business side. He's almost assuredly going to start in the G-League.
"He will pack G-League arenas. Merchandising all of those make him an attractive player, whether it's late first round or second round so I think certainly his opportunity to play in the NBA is there," Wojnarowski said. [3:30 - 3:55]
Meanwhile, Bobby Marks explained what would make Bronny James a good NBA prospect. Marks pointed that Bronny's shooting would be a weakness considering how poorly he shot the ball in his lone year in college.
However, Marks also likes how the 19-year-old guard put on weight and his potential on defense.
"I think it starts with certainly shooting, something that he struggled a bit at USC. Certainly in a little bit of a dysfunctional situation there. I think what teams are going to see is a player that's 15 pounds heavier in a good way than he was at USC.
"He put on some really solid weight. ... I think his calling card is going to be on the defensive end and I think the next couple of days, whether be in the five-on five workouts, that's the one thing that teams are looking for," Marks said. [4:13 - 4:49]
Bronny James' NIL deals are worth $3.7 million
It certainly helps to be the son of LeBron James, but Bronny James developed his own following when he was still a high school star for Sierra Canyon. Bronny earned an estimated $3.7 million worth of NIL deals as a freshman for the USC Trojans.
Bronny ranks third among athletes who have not turned professional, just behind Shadeur Sanders of the Colorado Buffaloes football team and Livvy Dunne of the LSU Tigers gymnastics team. He's ahead of star college athletes such as Travis Hunter, Arch Manning and Quinn Ewers.
If Bronny gets drafted in the NBA, he's expected to play games in the G League. He's going to be an attraction there, which could help in financial terms for everyone involved.
He will also develop playing against other professionals before eventually and hopefully getting called up to team up with his father.