BRONNY JAMES’S LEGAL name might be “LeBron James Jr.,” but he’s coming into the NBA with significantly different expectations than those of the first LeBron James. While LeBron James Sr. was dubbed “The Chosen One” in 2002 on one of the most famous Sports Illustrated covers of the last 30 years before being drafted #1 overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers (and that was just the beginning of the hype), Bronny had pedestrian stats during his single season playing at USC, and was drafted 55th overall—one of the final picks of the draft—by his dad’s current team, the Los Angeles Lakers. LeBron was expected to be a superstar upon entering the league; Bronny is hoping to be a role player.
Writer Hanif Abdurraqib dives into this with Bronny in a new Men’s Health cover story, dropping just before the start of the rookie’s first season playing alongside his dad. He describes Bronny as a player hoping to be a prototypical “3-and-D” guy—a role player specializing in outside shooting and defense—noting his relentless effort on the defensive side of the ball and a mentality of rarely getting rattled when shooting threes.
Much in the same way that you can find traces of a musician’s work by looking into their influences, you can often learn more about a basketball player’s game by figuring out who they watched and idolized at a formative age. Abdurraqib asked Bronny for his favorites to watch growing up, and got a quick (and interesting) answer.
“Jamal Crawford, for sure,” he said. “Melo, just because he was so close to us. I used to watch old Iverson highlights. And then Gilbert Arenas, because I played with him a bunch in 2K.”
Three of those players are similar, and one a bit different, so let’s quickly break it down. Jamal Crawford, Allen Iverson, and Gilbert Arenas are all combo guards who specialize in scoring from all over the court. Crawford was initially a high first-round pick (8th overall in 2000), but eventually made his name as one of the best bench scorers of all time; he won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award a record three times. Arenas, like Bronny, was also a second round pick; he eventually became an elite scorer and a star for the Washington Wizards in the mid-2000s, at one point even averaging more than 29 points-per-game before legal troubles derailed his career. Iverson is one of the most exciting players in the NBA’s history, and was always known for his ball-handling skills and scoring prowess.
All three of those players would be defined as either point or combo- guards, which would seem to be the avenue Bronny would like to carve out for himself. It’s also worth noting that all three of those players were at their peaks in the early 2000s, when Bronny was either not born yet or an infant.
The fourth player he mentioned, Carmelo Anthony (a longtime friend of his father’s who was drafted the same year), is a much different kind of player; at 6-foot-7, he played a far more physical, bullying type of basketball (albeit with a shooting range that extended out beyond the 3-point line).
It’s interesting to note that Bronny didn’t mention his dad. Maybe that answer goes without saying, or maybe he just notes that his style of game is that much different. Either way, as the first James child makes his way into his debut NBA season, we’re eager to see how it plays out.
