“It’s a lot and it’s built me into a stronger individual,” Bronny James said. “All of this, I’m extremely grateful, but it’s a lot sometimes. I don’t ever want to be that guy and say that all this pressure is what’s compelling me to not perform as well. It’s something that I have to deal with and it’s been present my whole life.”
James was one of 78 players invited to participate in the NBA Draft Combine this week. The list of participants are voted on by NBA scouts and executives based on who they want to see during the pre-draft process.
“I’m extremely grateful to be here and given the opportunity to be here,” James said. “I’m just trying to showcase my best work that I’ve been putting in after the season and just take it all in.”
The combine kicked off on Monday with measurements, agility testing and shooting drills. James took the court with the last group of the day. He looked visibly stronger compared to the college season and in great shape. His official measurements came in at 6-foot-1 1/2 (without shoes), 210.4 pounds and a 6-7 1/4 wingspan. The first portion of the agility testing was the vertical jump, and he recorded a 40.5 max, the third-best score of the combine.
After the agility testing it was time to hit the court for a handful of shooting drills, 3-on-3 drills and pick-and-roll reps. Bronny started off slow, trying to find his rhythm like most players throughout the day. It wasn’t until the 3-point star drill (25 shots running from all five spots on the court continuously) when he really started to shine. He made 12 in a row, not missing a 3-ball in a full 1:15, and went 19-for-25, finishing in second place behind UConn‘s Alex Karaban, who hit 21-of-25 attempts.
Bronny supported the other players in his group when they were going through drills, took feedback from the coaches and never once looked out of place. NBA scouts and executives left the first day of drills impressed with his 3-point shooting and intrigued by him as a legit NBA prospect.
“It’s clear he understands the NBA game,” one NBA scout told Yahoo Sports. “He still has a long way to go, but the college game is vastly different from the NBA, and he has a skillset that translates.”