How good is Bronny James really? Analyzing his rookie season

The Los Angeles Lakers guard and LeBron James' son, Bronny James, could be considered one of the worst NBA players at this stage of his career due to failing to make an impact in the game, lack of readiness for the NBA, and poor stats in many metrics.

There have been many players in the NBA's 77-year history. Many of them were great, others not so much, but most of them deserved their place in the NBA.

It is rare to see nepotism play such a huge role in a player's career as it did with Bronny James.

Is Bronny James any good?

We would have to delve deeply into the statistics to see if any college player has ever joined the NBA after a single year while being statistically one of the worst players in college, as Bronny James did.

GP	MP	PPG	APG	RPG	FG	3PT	FT
25	19.4	4.8	2.1	2.8	36.6%	26.7%	67.6%

Some players average much better numbers but stay in college longer because they still haven't proven to NBA teams that they deserve an opportunity.

For instance, the former No. 1 recruit Justin Edwards, who averaged 8.8 points and 3.4 rebounds for Kentucky, went undrafted.

Bronny's stats showed that he did not seem prepared for the NCAA last season. He often had as many turnovers as he had points while having one of the worst plus/minuses in the entire division throughout the whole season.

Although he may seem like a decent defender on paper, he lacks lateral quickness and is not very athletic by NBA standards.

Is Bronny James good enough for NBA?

Bronny James's shooting ability and overall offensive talent are way below NBA standards.

Bronny James' stats in his rookie NBA season (2024-25, as of February 13):

To simplify these numbers, Bronny James has appeared in 17 NBA games, totaling 68 minutes of play. He has scored 24 points, shooting 8-for-32 (25.0%) from the field and 3-for-13 (23.1%) from three-point range.

Along with difficulties in the NBA, Bronny also had major setbacks in the G league. At the beginning of the season, Bronny was ranked 357th in G League efficiency, with poor offensive stats and an average of just 0.4 points per game.

Only two players, Collin Gillespie and Keyontae Johnson, had worse totals. His performance was below G League standards, including having the worst plus/minus during preseason.

But things have changed since, and Bronny found his place in the G League with more solid numbers. He is currently averaging 13.4 points on 37% shooting from the field, along with 3.9 assists, while having 3.1 turnovers per game.

After a standout performance in the G League, where Bronny James recently scored a career-high 31 points, he was called up for the Lakers' game against Philadelphia.

Unfortunately, when given the opportunity, things didn't go as smoothly, and he struggled to make an impact on the court.

In 15 minutes of play, Bronny failed to score, missing all five of his shots, including three 3-pointers. He also committed three turnovers.

Lakers coach JJ Redick acknowledged the difficult situation: "He didn't play well," Redick admitted. "But he's been playing great in the stay-ready games, and he's been playing great in the G League. I have confidence, but obviously, he didn't provide that at a high level.

"Maybe put him in a tough spot, flying out yesterday, nationally televised game and all that stuff," he concluded.

Bronny's performance wasn't up to the level they expected. He had a rough night, including being outplayed by Tyrese Maxey and other guards. 

His basketball IQ is also questionable, as he is often late in decision-making. At the NBA level, one second can make a huge difference.

So far, he has not proven to be a fast thinker, to say the least. Overall, finding anything he brings to the table at such a high-level competition as the NBA is pretty difficult.

We will see what the future holds for LeBron James' son, but his current NBA outlook doesn't look promising. He looks inferior but has improved in a G League, which is a good sign for his development.

It seems that skipping a few steps in his career due to nepotism has put him in difficult situations. He is not to blame for that, but his father, LeBron James.

Hopefully, that won't happen to his son Bryce James, who is an even worse prospect than Bronny.

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