Aside from the pomp and circumstance surrounding the Los Angeles Lakers drafting him to pair him up with his father, LeBron James, Lakers rookie Bronny James has been abysmal in his first three preseason games.
The No. 55 overall pick out of USC has made just 1-of-11 shots, and his struggles from deep that he was having during the NBA Summer League have carried over to the preseason. Through three games, the younger James is averaging 0.7 points, 1.0 rebound and 1.7 turnovers per game, while getting nearly 12 minutes of run per game.
The rough start to his NBA career has not proved any of the naysayers who were skeptical about him being drafted wrong, and actually has Yahoo's Kevin O'Connor "worried" about him. The NBA insider admitted that he hasn't seen much progress from the son of one of the best to ever touch a basketball on a recent episode of the "Kevin O'Connor Show."
"I'm worried about Bronny (James)," O'Connor said . "I was hoping that we'd see some progress but I thought Tom Haberstroh nailed it. He said, 'This could be a circus' This is something that he worries about being a distraction and if he's playing opening night just get the moment with LeBron (James) and Bronny and time to put him (Bronny) in the G League."
Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James.
Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images
James struggling as mightily as he is shouldn't come as too much of a surprise. The former five-star recruit averaged just 4.8 points on 36.6% shooting during his lone season at USC, which saw his debut delayed due to a cardiac arrest incident.
Realistically, in 99.9% of NBA preseasons, a late second-round pick isn't under a microscope, but when the pick is the son of a legend and didn't put up special numbers in college, people will take notice. While fans may be harder on Bronny because of who he is, O'Connor also revealed that he doesn't believe that James is an NBA-caliber player, which he later said in the episode.
"It's not gonna last long, Dan (Devine)," O'Connor said about James in the NBA. "It's not. Bronny James is not an NBA-level-caliber player right now. Nowhere close. He's the son of LeBron James and I'm rooting for Bronny I think it would be awesome to see Bronny in the NBA for a decade plus long after LeBron's gone. But he's nowhere close."
The Lakers have three more preseason games that will provide the younger James an opportunity to get some reps with his father, but outside of his eventual appearance in a game with his father to make it history, it seems like his best chance to find success will come with the South Bay Lakers.
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