Is Bronny James underrated? Inside the phenomenon of the NBA bloodline

The NBA universe wants to know: Where will Bronny James go? The Los Angeles Lakers are widely expected to take LeBron James’ son at the 55th slot in the 2024 NBA Draft if he’s still on the board. Other teams might take him sooner and try to make James’ free agency decision this summer — the four-time MVP can opt out of his contract June 29 — a bit more interesting.

Some believe Bronny is taking a shortcut to the NBA. The McDonald’s All American from Sierra Canyon played just one season at USC, averaging just 4.8 points and 2.1 assists, after suffering cardiac arrest in July. To skeptics, Bronny is the overhyped beneficiary of the James bloodline, but time and time again, history tells us the opposite: NBA bloodlines are continually underrated. If anything, it seems the NBA pedigree actually hurts draft status rather than helps.

Jalen Brunson, for example, wasn’t even a first-round pick despite being the National College Player of the Year and the son of former NBA player Rick Brunson. Nowadays, GMs across the league are kicking themselves for passing on Jalen, who finished fifth in this year’s MVP vote.

As we talk about Bronny’s candidacy, it’s worth pointing out that the success of second-generation players like Brunson isn’t the exception; it’s the rule. Jalen Brunson (33rd in 2018; son of Rick), Domantas Sabonis (11th in 2016; son of Arvydas) and Stephen Curry (7th in 2009; son of Dell) exceeded expectations — not to mention perennial All-Stars like Kobe Bryant (13th in 1996; son of Joe “Jellybean” Bryant), Klay Thompson (11th in 2011; son of Mychal) and Devin Booker (13th in 2015; son of Melvin) weren’t even top-10 picks.

(Amy Monks/Yahoo Sports Illustration)

It’s a market inefficiency that NBA GMs would be wise to correct. After studying the results of over 2,000 draft selections since 1989, new research suggests that second-generation athletes are vastly underrated compared to their pedigree-free peers. Many of the nepo-ballers slid on draft night. Some of them — Seth Curry, Gary Payton II and Wes Matthews Jr. — weren’t drafted at all. An Eastern Conference GM reasoned, “You don’t want to…

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Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-06-21 15:57:57

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