“There’s nothing that stands out”: Analyst Ryen Russillo shares honest opinion about Bronny James’ playing style
Bronny James' fate in the 2024 NBA Draft will be cleared in the coming days. The son of NBA legend LeBron James has been the topic of interest in the hoops world for a while now. There have been many sports enthusiasts who have already criticized, except a few, for his readiness to be in the NBA.
Recently, on the "Ryen Russillo Podcast," The Athletic's Sam Vecenie and Russillo talked about Bronny James and his NBA Draft status. The duo looked dissatisfied with what Bronny had to offer to the NBA teams.
"I did a deep dive this week and I can't believe we're even doing this. Umm.. there's almost nothing that stands out," Russillo stated. "You forget he's on the floor in college, the shooting number are not good. Umm.. cool screen here or there." (Time stamp- 1:20:23)
"I think he's a really engaged half court guy. There'll be a nice pass here or there but the idea that a team is going to spend a first pick on this kind of player makes zero sense to me," he added.
Bronny James had a tough start to his collegiate career when he experienced a cardiac arrest. After his comeback, he played 25 games for the USC and started in 6 games. In the 19.3 minutes per game that is played, he only averaged 4.8 ppg.
"I've done, you know, a dive back to like 2008 or so and I believe that Bronny would be the only one-and-done, like, ever drafter point blank that is 6-foot-1 that averaged under 5 points per game," said Sam Vecenie. (Timestamp- 1:21:58)
With all the expectations because of his name, his shooting numbers were not good either. He shot only 36.6% from the court, and 26.3% from beyond the 3-point line. Due to this, it was expected from him to spend another year at college but he declared for the 2024 NBA Draft.
"We would never ever talk about a player that players like him at his size without the shooting, there's no good number. There's just like I just looked at all the catch-and-shoot stuff and you just go - What? What am I supposed to do with this?" Ryen Russillo mentioned. (Timestamp- 1:21:09)
Also Read: Why NBA executives doubt a team will draft Bronny James with hopes that LeBron joins: "Don’t think there’s any validity to that" (Exclusive)
Sam Vecenie does not have Bronny James in his top NBA prospects list
Later on the podcast, Sam Vecenie talked about how LeBron's agent Rich Paul is trying to influence teams into signing Bronny James. Others think that LeBron's influence on the game will have Bronny drafted and it's most likely the Lakers who will have to do so to get LeBron's signature on the contract extension.
Vecenie also talked about where he would put Bronny in his mock draft list.
"I don't have Bronny James in my top 70. I don't. I'm with you. I don't see it. I have Riley Minix from Morehead State ahead of him, right?," said Vecenie. (Timestamp- 1:23:40)
With all the drama around Bronny James, mark your calendars for June 24th when everything will be cleared at 8:00 PM ET.