ESPN makes major change to Bronny James’ draft projection

ESPN is making a very interesting tea-leaf reading with Bronny James.

On Monday, Jonathan Givony of ESPN released his first NBA mock draft for 2025. Most notably, the USC freshman is mentioned in the article and is now projected as a 2025 draft pick. Givony lists Bronny as going in the second round (No. 39 overall) in his 2025 mock.

Bronny is no longer listed on ESPN’s latest mock draft for 2024 either.

The 19-year-old Bronny is draft-eligible this year, and it has been assumed for quite some time that he would be a one-and-done in college. But the best thing for Bronny the basketball player may indeed be for him to spend more time in college.

Coming off his big offseason health scare, Bronny looks barely draftable right now. He is averaging just 5.5 points and 2.5 assists per game for the Trojans this season, also turning in lousy shooting splits of 37/28/62.

But it may be a very different story for Bronny, the son of LeBron James. LeBron can become a free agent this offseason and has long expressed a desire to play for the team that drafts Bronny. 

Teams even beyond just the Los Angeles Lakers are already showing interest in the father-son pairing. Thus, even if it may not be the right basketball move, it is probably still the right business move for Bronny to declare for the draft after this season.