Gilbert Arenas on Bronny James: ‘He reminds me of a more athletic Jrue Holiday’
Gilbert Arenas previously had the opportunity to work with Bronny James, and the former three-time NBA All-Star recently offered a lofty comparison for the 18-year-old.
Arenas spent time in the gym with James in 2019 when his father, LeBron, was in his first season with the Los Angeles Lakers. LeBron reached out to Arenas to have him watch Bronny during his workouts to get another opinion on how he was developing at the time.
The former Washington Wizards star liked what he saw from Bronny in those workouts. He even thought Bronny was more advanced at that age than LeBron in some areas, such as shooting and dribbling. He believes Bronny is also unselfish on the court like LeBron.
Arenas, speaking on the “Dan Patrick Show” on Thursday, said that he sees some of Jrue Holiday in Bronny and believes he can perform at a high level in the NBA.
He reminds me of a more athletic Jrue Holiday. He is a very smart kid. … He will be, at his height, a 19-7-7 type of player. He is going to be a lockdown defender. He’ll make big plays when he needs to. He is going to be the perfect second option.
If he gets put on a bad team, and they say you’re going to be the No. 1 option, he has that ability but he is still going to be the guy, like his father: ‘If I have to score 30, I’m going to score 30. But if I see a play for a shooter in the corner at the end of the game, I will make that pass.’ He is more unselfish than LeBron is, too.
Bronny, who is considered a four-star recruit by ESPN, has not publicly stated his intentions for next season, but he is leaning toward playing in college, according to his parents. He apparently has a list of three preferred schools: Ohio State, Oregon and USC.
He has turned in a strong senior year at Sierra Canyon High School and saw his ranking with ESPN jump from 35 to 28 in the class of 2023. He is one of only six prospects in the top 100 that have not yet signed with a school for next season.
Bronny has made a considerable jump in each year of high school and appears to be developing into an impact player at the next level. Certainly, drawing a comparison to Holiday, a two-time All-Star, is high praise but if he can continue to improve, the sky will be the limit for him.
