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The NBA invites several rookies to participate in the annual draft combine so teams can assess their skills closer and one of this year's invites is Bronny James. James joins a list of 78 rookies from all over the USA and the world for this year's combine.
The combine features several standout players from this year's NCAA season, such as Purdue's Zach Edey and Duke's Kyle Filipowski. James joins teammate Isaiah Collier as one of two USC players invited to the event.
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Fans who saw the list of invites quickly reacted to the fact that Bronny James was among the college players who were invited. Some of the reactions were not too kind to the young player.
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"Bronny James on the list is a sick joke," @Shelly12492 tweeted.
"2-way contract bound," @JNReports said.
"Bronny James makes the list bc of his 'daddy,'" @tennzo_ added.
Other fans who disagreed on Bronny being invited referred to his stats as a freshman in USC to back up their stance.
"So many names deserving of that spot and he’s just there because it’s a way to draft LeBron to your team too. If I have to round up to get ppg to five, you’re not ready," @atothemfjb wrote.
"Big market for 4 ppg scorers," @drmastark said.
Meanwhile, other fans lamented that certain college players were left off the list while Bronny did.
"No Boo Buie or Marcus Domask but Bronny makes it," @Jake_7687 shared.
Bronny James' freshman season started with him suffering a cardiac arrest. He eventually returned to the court and played 25 games for USC but his earlier setback could have contributed to his slow freshman year. He averaged 4.8 points per game while mostly coming off the bench.
Alongside declaring for the NBA draft, he entered the transfer portal to keep his options open.
Adrian Wojnarowski believes Bronny James will be assigned to G-League should he make the NBA this season
Part of the appeal of drafting Bronny James is the idea that his father, LeBron James, a four-time champion and four-time MVP, will join whichever team takes him.
LeBron still commands a lot of attention and remains a great player at 39. In the 2023-24 season, he averaged 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.3 assists while shooting a career-best 41.0% from beyond the arc. Numbers that any team would welcome.
The perception of people around the league is that whichever team drafts Bronny will have the best chance to sign LeBron if he chooses to decline his player option with the LA Lakers and enter free agency.
However, Bronny's numbers suggest that he isn't NBA-ready. As such, NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski believes that whichever team drafts him will likely assign him to their G-League affiliate.
As per the NBA's rulebook, teams can draft and sign players to a G-League contract.
Another possibility is for Bronny to go undrafted and be picked up as an unrestricted free agent. In this situation, a team can sign him to a two-way contract, allowing that team to send them down to the G-League.
Regardless of how his season played out, teams will not get a first-hand look at Bronny James at the draft combine and decide if he is ready to be part of their roster.
