Bronny James Expected To Remain In 2024 NBA Draft After Receiving Medical Clearance
Bronny James has been medically cleared to play in the NBA and is expected to remain in the 2024 NBA Draft.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Jonathan Givony, Bronny, the eldest son of Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, was medically cleared to play by the league’s Fitness to Play Panel and will participate in pre-draft workouts beginning this week. Bronny has until the May 29 deadline to decide if he will remain in the 2024 NBA Draft or return to college to play his sophomore season.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania reports that Bronny is expected to remain in the draft, where he is projected to be selected in the second round by his father’s current team, the Los Angeles Lakers, which hold the 55th overall pick.
Following a standout career at the prep level, Bronny, who was selected as a McDonald’s All-American and ranked the No. 27 overall recruit in the 2023 class by Rivals, attended USC for his freshman season.
Prior to the season, Bronny collapsed during a summer workout at the university after suffering cardiac arrest, causing the Trojans’ prized recruit to be hospitalized and miss the beginning of USC’s 2023-24 campaign. It was determined that Bronny’s health scare was caused by a congenitcal heart defect, which was later treated through a medical procedure the 19-year-old underwent in October.
After being medically cleared, Bronny played in 23 games for USC, posting averages of 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in just under 20 minutes per game. Initially projected to be drafted as high as in the lottery, Bronny’s lackluster season has since caused his draft stock to plummet, with many attributing his potential selection to the influence of his father, who has expressed his desire to play on the same NBA team as his son.
“My senior year, I’ll be playing with my son, LeBron said back in 2022 at the NBA All Star Game. Wherever Bronny is, I’ll be there. I would do whatever it takes to play with my son for a year. It’s not about the money,” he said.
The four-time NBA champion and NBA MVP has since tempered those comments, opting to take a wait-and-see approach in regards to Bronny’s NBA prospects. “I like to throw things out in the airwaves, but I’m not one to [say] what’s going to happen in the next two to three years,” he said later that year. “I am a visionary, but I’m also a guy that lives in the moment. I’d definitely be looking at who got first-round picks in 2024, 2025, things of that nature; 2026, ’27. I pay attention to that type of stuff.”
The 2024 NBA Draft takes place June 26-27 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.
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