Mock drafts are made to project where college athletes stack up against their counterparts and if they’ll have a chance to be drafted as a lottery pick or later on during the process. Though they’re not always accurate, they give an idea of where the player could be drafted.
Bronny James has been one of the most talked-about prospects, mostly because he’s the son of LeBron James, but his latest mock draft projection threw many people for a loop. In ESPN’s mock draft, they predicted that Bronny would be staying in school for another year instead of declaring for the 2024 NBA Draft. The mock draft also had Bronny getting drafted in the second round of the 2025 mock draft.
Hours after the mock draft was released, LeBron went on X, formerly known as Twitter, and made a tweet aimed at the critics and their predictions.
“Can y’all just please let the kid be a kid and enjoy college basketball? The work and results will ultimately do the taking no matter what he decides to do,” LeBron said. “If y’all don’t know he doesn’t care what a mock draft says, he just WORKS! Earned Not Given!
“And to all the other kids out there striving to be great, just keep your head down, blinders on, and keep grinding. These Mock Drafts [don’t] matter one bit! I promise you! Only the WORK MATTERS!! Let’s talk REAL BASKETBALL PEOPLE!”
Bronny James hasn’t had the freshman season at USC that people were expecting, as he’s averaging 5.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.5 assists. Bronny missed the beginning of the season after recovering from suffering cardiac arrest before the season.
Anticipation for Bronny to enter the league has been high ever since LeBron mentioned that he would like to play alongside his son
