Is Caitlin Clark More NBA Ready than Bronny James? Unique NBA Draft Announcement Fuels Viral Debate

Could Caitlin Clark perform better in the NBA than rookie Bronny James? This intriguing question is trending after the sports world was shaken up by some recent news about LeBron James’ son. According to reports, Bronny James is declaring for the NBA draft, but there’s a catch.

What Makes Bronny James’ Entry into the 2024 NBA Draft Unique?

Bronny James declaring for the NBA draft came as a shock to almost everyone. His college career started off with a tragic heart injury, from which he miraculously recovered a few months later. His first season as a D-1 college player was less than stellar, but he did have some bright moments, mainly on defense and making the right pass.

When the dust settled, his stats were a bit alarming; he averaged around 5 points per game and shot around 36% from the field, and 23% from three. He did prove that he will always make the right play when he has the ball, even if it’s detriment to his own stats, and that’s an intangible many coaches want.

His declaration for the NBA Draft is unique because he is also simultaneously entering the transfer protocol. In reality, he’s still open to playing college basketball at a different school next season, but is also hoping that an NBA team drafts him. The perks of being LeBron James’ son?

What is the Main Glaring Weakness in Bronny James’ Game?

Now, there are apparently many people out there who think that Bronny James is an average to below average basketball player, who is benefiting from an extreme case of nepotism.

Statistically, they may have an argument, but most of the talk about Bronny always points to his “potential”.

In the past there have been single digit college players like Zach Lavine who only averaged about 9.4 ppg in college and Jrue Holiday who averaged 8.4 ppg, who went on to realize their potential in the NBA.

Still yet, there are many glaring aspects in Bronny’s game that people see as red flags. He’s around 6’2″ with shoes on, which makes him undersized at both the point guard and shooting guard positions in today’s NBA.

In the picture below you can see he is slightly shorter than Stephen Curry who is 6’2″. Pay attention to how Curry’s eye level is few inches above Bronny’s despite the fact that he was leaning over to hug him.

Why are People Wondering if Caitlin Clark is a Better NBA Prospect than Bronny James?

In many cases, NBA prospects that are around Bronny James’ height have really good handles. However, in his case, his handles are basically the weakest part of his game, which makes him very limited on offense. You are not likely to find more than a few highlights of Bronny breaking down a defender off the dribble.

In most cases on offense he picks up the ball too early once a defender puts the pressure on rather than using that to his advantage to blow by them.

On ESPN, Kendrick Perkins stated that Bronny James’ game was built for the NBA, and not for College.

He could have a point, because Bronny would likely be a spot-up shooter who defends well at the NBA level. However, people on social media are only thinking of the right now, where he isn’t a good three-point shooter even from the college line.

During his season at USC, Bronny shot 23% from three, and a lot of them were wide-open shots. From the field, he shot 37%. Could that have just been rust from the months he spent recovering from his injury?

Kendrick Perkins’ comments led to some interesting comments on social media. There were many people who claimed that right now, Caitlin Clark is more NBA-ready than Bronny James.

They pointed out that Clark is a better shooter and ball handler, while others who disagreed pointed out that Bronny is a better defender and has to shoot with a bigger basketball. The people who didn’t agree would fire back with comments saying defense doesn’t even exist in today’s NBA on most nights.

Caitlin Clark, who is about 2 inches shorter than Bronny, averaged 32 ppg, 7 rpg, 9 apg, and shot 38% from three.

Let’s just assume that Bronny would be a defensive spot-up shooter in the NBA. Let’s also assume that Caitlin Clark would also be a spot-up shooter in the NBA who is a bad defender. Which one would do better at playing their role in the NBA?

If you had to bet $500,000 on who would score more in an NBA game between Caitlin Clark and Bronny James, who would you put the money on?

The fact that this is a viral discussion on social media is an early look into the type of scrutiny Bronny James is going to receive if he actually gets drafted in 2024. Luckily he seems to be a very mentally tough person, so he probably already just uses the criticism as fuel to be great.