Report: Bronny James widely projected to be late 1st-round to early 2nd-round pick

A new report indicates that Bronny James, son of Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, is currently projected to be taken late in the first round or early in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft.

On “The Wine and Gold Talk” podcast, co-host Chris Fedor indicated that the younger James could elevate his status with a pair of strong seasons at both the high school and collegiate levels.

“By all accounts, everybody that I’ve talked to around the NBA that does this for a living, that scouts this, they talk about Bronny as late first-round pick, early second-round pick type of player,” said Fedor.

“Now that could change. He could have a great season this year in high school, and then he could go somewhere to college and have a great freshman season and then the status quo changes.”

When it comes to the younger James, he’s been closely watched since long before he ever began playing high school basketball. While he hasn’t yet shown the skills possessed by his father, his genetic makeup has shown enough that his future as an NBA player has been speculated about.

Earlier this year, the elder James indicated that he would like to play on the same team as his son for at least one season. That wouldn’t happen for two more years.

The elder James temporarily halted any speculation about leaving the Lakers earlier this week when he signed a lucrative multiyear contract extension. Notably, the final year of that deal includes a player option.

Given the current speculation about the younger James’ draft status, that could spark intense interest among teams for late first-round picks. Among the teams that will almost assuredly be in that group are the Lakers.