Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

NBA Draft News: Doctors Make Big Decision on Bronny James’ Draft Eligibility

Originally posted on Hardwood Heroics
By Christian Alamodin | Last updated 5/13/24

There are plenty of questions surrounding Bronny James and the 2024 NBA Draft. While he’s one of the most exciting prospects in terms of overall hype, his performance in his lone season at USC creates more questions about his NBA viability than answers.

To make matters worse, there’s also the matter of his health. Fans will remember that the eldest child of LeBron James suffered a cardiac arrest during a preseason workout at USC. This issue puts a huge red flag on his NBA eligibility despite the fact that he was eventually cleared to play for the Trojans before the 2023-24 campaign began.

After what many considered a disappointing freshman season with the Trojans, Bronny decided to enter his name in the 2024 NBA Draft. While many openly questioned why such an underperformer would want to declare on the back of his father’s name, his ceiling made him a viable enough prospect that a team like the Los Angeles Lakers is reportedly interested in picking him.

The only blockade stopping him from making his NBA dreams come true is the NBA-mandated medical. While his fans were anxious with the results, the latest update on his situation will make his 2024 NBA Draft journey more interesting.

Doctors clear Bronny James to continue with the 2024 NBA Draft

The league ran a mandated medical on prospects to make sure no issues would drastically affect their health and ability to contribute on the NBA level.

While most players pass this test with flying colors, this was a huge hurdle for James. Since he was diagnosed with a congenital heart condition, doctors would be more thorough when it came to Bronny.

The Spun’s Andrew Holleran wrote about the results, which would surely delight his thousands of fans:

“Sources: Bronny James is expected to stay in the 2024 NBA Draft. The USC freshman has been fully cleared to play in the league as part of Fitness to Play panel and will participate in all pre-draft activities starting with the Draft Combine this week,” Shams Charania reported on Monday morning.

Now that he’s medically cleared to play NBA basketball, there’s only one thing stopping him from possibly getting selected in the draft: his performance in his lone season at USC. He played 25 games for the Trojans, averaging 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists.

While some may argue that his play is more suited to NBA play, there’s still plenty of question marks for Bronny coming in. It’s up to him to prove the doubters wrong if he does make it to an NBA roster.

This article first appeared on Hardwood Heroics and was syndicated with permission.

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