Los Angeles Lakers Rookie Bronny James Receives Interesting Comparison

Los Angeles Lakers rookie guard Bronny James is being compared to an interesting NBA player.

Jul 12, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James (9) competes during the second half against the Houston Rockets at the Thomas & Mack Center. / Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports

The 2024 NBA Summer League experience did not go well for Los Angeles Lakers' rookie guard Bronny James. Amid a lot of media scrutiny, James struggled mightily offensively, air-balling shots and failing to show he could score against Summer League opponents.

His poor performance has caused many to believe that his NBA future is bleak.

Gone are the days of him being a heralded up-and-coming star with the USC Trojans. He played one season in college, but didn't average big numbers. James did, however, find big numbers off-the-court in the NIL marketplace.

As shared by On3, he ended his tenure at USC with a shocking NIL valuation of $3.2 million. SportsKeeda suggested that James made upwards of $5.9 million in NIL deals.

Those numbers are insane. Now, he faces a much tougher task than he has faced during his basketball career.

After such a poor showing, James will face a ton of media and fan ridicule. However, he is a rookie and only has one season of college experience. The Lakers did not draft him to come in and be an immediate key role player.

Los Angeles head coach JJ Redick, who was hired this offseason, spoke out about his rookie guard. He also offered a future comparison of what he thinks James can become. That comparison was Oklahoma City Thunder guard Lugentz Dort.

"(Dort's) impact, you can't get into your offense sometimes. The shot clock winds down because of his ball pressure. ... Bronny eventually will be that guy."

Even throughout the pre-draft process, James was being talked about as a future elite defender. He may never be a go-to offensive threat, but he can carve out a role for himself on the defensive end of the court.

During his one season in college at USC, James played in 25 games and started in six of those appearances. He averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 0.8 steals per game. In addition to those averages, James shot 36.6 percent from the floor and 26.7 percent from three-point range.

It's way too early to begin writing the young James out. He has a lot of time left to develop his game.

The best players in the world have struggled at times in their career. Many of today's current NBA stars were not stars right off the bat in the league. James should be given some space and time to work on his game and given a few years before any kind of judgement is passed.