LeBron James may have to wait until 2025 for his son Bronny to join him in the NBA. According to the latest ESPN.com NBA mock draft for 2025, Bronny is now the projected No. 39 pick next year. He is no longer projected in the 2024 Draft because he is not in the Top 60 of this year’s projected picks.
Of course, it’s still possible Bronny declares for the draft after this season. The 2025 Draft —headlined by Duke commit Cooper Flagg and Rutgers signee Ace Bailey — will be much stronger than this year’s.
Bronny, a 6-foot-4 freshman guard, is currently averaging 5.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists for USC.
LeBron James said during NBA All-Star weekend “it’s up to the kid” whether he leaves after this season. LeBron will turn 40 in December and would be in his age-40 season during the 2024-25 NBA campaign. He holds a $51 million player option with the Lakers for next season.
LeBron remains one of the NBA’s best players at 39, averaging 25.0 points, 7.9 assists and 7.2 rebounds for the Lakers (31-28), currently the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference.
Bronny collapsed from cardiac arrest during a practice at USC on July 24 and was taken to the hospital for treatment in the intensive care unit. In early October, LeBron revealed his son had had surgery last summer. He made his season-debut for USC on Dec. 10.
As a senior at Sierra Canyon, Bronny averaged 14 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.8 steals. He was named to the McDonald’s All-American game in March, where he scored 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the perimeter while adding 4 assists and 2 steals. James was a four-star recruit and chose U.S.C. over Oregon and Ohio State.
“When you judge Bronny simply on his own merit and not based on all that goes with being LeBron James’ son, his NBA upside is much less clear,” a basketball analyst said. “He would not be in the one-and-done conversation right now if his name were not Bronny James.”
