Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Los Angeles Clippers star Paul George is a fan of Bronny James’ game.
George discussed the 2024 NBA draft prospect on his podcast Wednesday and said (58:15:00 mark), “What’s more impressive is just his basketball savviness. His basketball IQ. He can do it all. I feel like he hasn’t shown that he can really be elite at a lot of things. But I think he can be elite at a lot of things.”
He also compared James to Boston Celtics guards Jrue Holiday and Derrick White, whom he called “glue guys who can go do everything on the floor and help you win.”
Whether the Los Angeles Lakers select him with the No. 55 pick in an attempt to pair him with his famous father or another team beats them to it, whichever team drafts Bronny will be doing so based on potential over production.
James averaged only 4.8 points per game and largely came off the bench for USC in his one collegiate season. He also shot a mere 36.6 percent from the field and 26.7 percent from deep, although he didn’t make his debut until mid-December after he suffered cardiac arrest during a workout in July.
Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman projected James as the No. 55 overall pick in his most recent mock draft and pointed to how impressive his outside shooting was at the NBA Scouting Combine. If he can bring some of that “basketball savviness” and shooting to the Lakers, perhaps he can unlock his full potential while playing alongside one of the league’s all-time greats in his father.