Bronny James made his first start for USC against Colorado on Saturday night, but it didn’t end up being a game that he’d look back on too fondly. The 19-year-old finished with 0 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 assist as USC lost 68-58, and he has now gone scoreless in back-to-back outings.
Against Colorado, Bronny played 25 minutes and was 0-7 from the field and 0-3 from beyond the arc. He was a non-factor in the contest, as USC surrendered a 37-24 halftime lead to fall to 8-9 on the season.
Just a few nights earlier against Washington State, Bronny had an identical stat line of 0 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 assist in 15 minutes of action. He went 0-3 from the field in that one and was 0-2 from three, as USC lost 72-64.
Bronny has really struggled offensively recently and this was almost a three-game scoreless streak as well. He had gone 0-4 from the field against Stanford but did sink two free throws to end the night with 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals.
What makes this recent slump so surprising is that it has come off the back of arguably his two best games for USC. James had a 15-point outing against Oregon State and then followed it up with a 10-point outing against California. It had seemed like he had found his footing after those displays, but things have gone south since.
Some ups and downs were to be expected, though, especially after he suffered that cardiac arrest last year. In many ways, the fact that Bronny has gotten back on the court and has had some great moments makes this a successful campaign regardless of some of the struggles.
It doesn’t help his draft stock, though. Our 2024 NBA Mock Draft has Bronny projected as going in the second round, but a significant uptick in his performances the rest of the way could see that changing.
LeBron James Believes Bronny Could Play For The Lakers Right Now
While Bronny is obviously the one who deserves most of the credit for getting to where he is today, his father, LeBron James, has been a big help every step of the way. LeBron holds his son’s abilities in very high regard and recently, James said Bronny could easily play for the Los Angeles Lakers right now.
You certainly could accuse LeBron of being a bit biased there, but you can’t blame a father too much for hyping up his son. Bronny, who is averaging 5.2 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.0 steals per game for USC, isn’t good enough to play for the Lakers right now, but he could be one day in the future.
LeBron’s comments were partly made in frustration, as the Lakers continue to struggle. They have a 19-21 record right now and not many expected the season to go the way it has.
If the campaign does end in disappointment, then I believe there might be a chance James decides to leave. He has expressed a desire to play with Bronny and if the Lakers don’t look like title contenders, he might just decide to go to whichever team drafts Bronny.
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