USC Trojans guard Bronny James. Alex Gallardo-USA TODAY Sports

LeBron James lashes out at draft projections on Bronny James

By Sai Mohan | Last updated 2/28/24

ESPN seemingly upset one LeBron James by releasing its latest NBA mock draft on Monday.

While Bronny James was earmarked as a second-round pick in their previous mock drafts, the latest list excluded him altogether and instead projected him to be selected in the 2025 NBA Draft.

The projections fueled all sorts of reactions on social media, with some imploring Bronny to stay in USC for a sophomore year to hone his craft, and others concluding that the 19-year-old is simply not cut out for the NBA.

James decided to weigh in on the hot-button subject via X through a pair of since-deleted posts.

“Can yall please just let the kid be a kid and enjoy college basketball," James wrote, via Sports Illustrated. "The work and results will ultimately do the talking no matter what he decides to do. 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 doesn’t matter one bit! I promise you! Only the WORK MATTERS!! Let’s talk REAL BASKETBALL PEOPLE! "

LeBron chimes in on Bronny's critics and mock draft placing pic.twitter.com/74DwLSpJsN
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 26, 2024

Meanwhile, Kendrick Perkins — a former teammate of James — urged Bronny to remain in school for another year and let his transition to the pros "happen naturally" instead of forcing his way to the pros.

"We don’t want to force anything," Perkins told ESPN’s "NBA Today" on Monday. "We don’t want to force this young man's livelihood or development so he can go pair up with LeBron… or whatever narrative we're trying to push. Let the young man breathe."

In fairness to the media, the "narrative" of James and Bronny playing together in the NBA was pushed by James himself when he declared his intentions to share the court with his son before calling time on his career.

Even in January, after the Lakers' loss to the Grizzlies, James was heard saying Bronny "could play for us right now," per several media outlets.

As such, James has likely done more to heighten the pressure on Bronny than the media.

during ad’s availability, austin asked lebron about bronny’s game tomorrow and if he’d be starting. lebron said he thought it was time, and loudly said “he could play for us right now. easy. EASY.”
— claire de lune (@ClaireMPLS) January 6, 2024

Bronny is averaging 5.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists for the USC Trojans while shooting a subpar 37 percent from the field. He missed the early part of the season after suffering a cardiac arrest.

More must-reads: