Bronny James vs Jimmy Butler: Did the USC freshman and Miami superstar have a similar first season in D1 basketball?
It could be safe to say that Bronny James is far, far from the once-in-a-generation basketball talent that his old man was. In his freshman season at USC, the scion of four-time MVP and four-time NBA champ LeBron James has disappointed thus far with a sub-par statline.
However, the thing with college basketball is that it's far from the only indication of potential success in the NBA. With Bronny James still likely to get drafted despite his struggles, there's a chance that the youngster could bloom in the pros the way a former struggling freshman did at Marquette 15 years ago. That freshman is current Miami Heat superstar Jimmy Butler.
Bronny James vs Jimmy Butler's freshman seasons at a glance
In Jimmy Butler's rookie season at Marquette, he was quite far from the terror that is Jimmy G. Buckets (or Playoff Jimmy to those teams he has torched in the postseason).
In 35 games and never starting during the 08-09 season, Butler averaged 5.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, 0.7 assists, and 0.5 blocks and assists each game. These are certainly not eye-popping, but it's understandable.
Jimmy Butler was not a highly recruited player coming out of high school, so he never had a reputation when he came to campus. By the time he came in, Marquette's star was the sweet-shooting Wesley Matthews, who was averaging 18.3 PPG.
As for Bronny James, his statline more or less mirrors that of Jimmy's. For the year, the USC guard averages 5.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists on roughly 20 minutes per game.
However, the most glaring difference is that Bronny has already started in six games out of 19 he played for the Trojans.
Will Bronny James bloom in the NBA like Jimmy Butler?
There's a reason that the Miami Heat superstar is one of the best players in the world: he played with a massive chip on his shoulder for his entire career. Not a lot of people believed that he would be successful, but he used that to fuel his fire and ended up earning his Jimmy G. Buckets moniker and then some.
Bronny James' situation could arguably be the same but also very different. As the son of one of the greatest to ever play basketball, Bronny already has expectations that would completely fold anyone. Because in truth, it's almost impossible to live up to LeBron James' career for anyone in the league.
At the same time, Bronny James must be able to use that to fuel his own fire. With his major health scare completely sidelining him and his poor freshman performance, he has nowhere to go but up.
It's completely unfair for anyone to expect the USC youngster to live up to his father's accomplishments, so the best thing for him is to hope that he finally figures it out once he gets to the pros.