Bronny James may not be 'NBA-ready' for several years, according to talent evaluators

For obvious reasons, Bronny James is one of the most well-known NBA prospects in recent memory.

But the reality is that many basketball fans have not yet had the chance to watch him play and mostly just know that his father is LeBron James. Ever since LeBron said he plans to play alongside Bronny in the NBA, Bronny’s NBA future has become a bit of an inevitability.

So long as LeBron is waiting on the other side, there may be less of a question of whether or not he will play in the league. But we don’t actually know when he will be able to turn pro.

As he prepares for his senior year of high school at Sierra Canyon and his recruiting cycle begins to heat up, however, that question is getting louder and louder. We know LeBron’s contract lines up with when Bronny can first become draft-eligible, but will Bronny be ready?

Here is what we learned in the latest report from Dana O’Neil (via The Athletic):

“No one thinks Bronny is a one-and-done player, nor does his current recruiting ranking project him as one … Most coaches and scouts who spoke to The Athletic say Bronny might not be NBA-ready after two or even three years. He might develop into an NBA player, but the consensus is that it will take time. They say he needs reps against other high-caliber players to succeed, to fail, to adjust, to grow.”

O’Neil continued, offering an interesting comparison for his path:

“Evaluators say Bronny’s path to the NBA might be aligned more with a player such as Villanova’s Josh Hart. A top 100 player, Hart became the Big East’s sixth man of the year as a sophomore and finally following his senior year, a first-round draft pick in 2017. He is not an NBA star; he still will make $12 million with Portland this year.”

Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman has previously compared Bronny to former second-rounders including De’Anthony Melton (No. 46 overall pick) and Ayo Dosunmu (No. 38 overall).

True Hoop’s David Thorpe has also described Bronny as someone who plays like Fred VanVleet — who went undrafted after his senior year of college.

If each class was redrafted knowing what we know now about all of the players, Hart, Melton, Dosunmu and VanVleet would likely all hear their names early in the first round. None of those players, however, were considered NBA-ready prospects after just one season in college basketball.

One coach in the Big 12 recently said Bronny could become a “double-digit scorer for a really good program” by his second collegiate season, per On3, but does that work with LeBron’s timeline?

There is nothing wrong with a multi-year timeline to make the NBA, and if Bronny can emulate players like Hart and Melton, he can have a long career. LeBron, however, turns 38 years old in less than two months. Does he have it in him to wait until he is in his 40s to play alongside his son?