Bill Simmons offered something of a blunt assessment of Bronny James recently, shortly before the 18-year-old was officially upgraded to five-star recruit status this past week.
In Simmons’ estimation, LeBron James’ oldest son lacks a unique tool in his arsenal that would help him at the next level.
Without it, ‘The Ringer’ boss struggles to see how Bronny separates himself from more legitimate competition than the sort he currently faces at the high school level.
Simmons broke all this down during an appearance on ‘One Shining Podcast’ with Tate Frazier.
“Right now, from what I’ve seen, he’s definitely athletic, he’s a very good defensive player, he seems like he’d be fun to play with, but he’s basically a 6’2″ shooting guard,” Simmons said.
For Simmons, it’s all about that differentiating skillset.
“I think this is a case where the expectation and the pressure is not a great thing for him,” Simmons continued.
“I think… the AAU, you get those videos and stuff, it can portray a certain type of player. You know at some point, if you’re at the highest, highest level, you’ve got to bring some awesome thing to the table if you’re going to be an above-average starter.”
As far as Simmons is concerned, until Bronny develops that one unique skill, he will struggle at the next level.
“You either have to be an incredible shooter, an incredible defender, a great athlete with length, or somebody like [Oklahoma City Thunder swingman] Josh Giddey who’s just a connector with the way he plays, and I don’t know what that’s going to be for him.. but right now he looks like a 6’2” shooting guard,” Simmons added.
Michigan’s most impressive star from the TCU game is back. https://t.co/ZBySbpoDib
— Game 7 (@game7__) March 11, 2023
Bronny is currently deciding between nine universities, but one clear frontrunner has definitely emerged in recent days.
How he performs once he hits college will answer a lot of questions about Bronny’s longevity as a basketball player.
Will Simmons’ concerns about him ultimately be validated at the next level? Time will tell.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
