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Los Angeles Lakers: Why Kevin Garnett Sees Similarities Between Bronny James, Kobe Bryant

Originally posted on Hardwood Heroics
By Angelo Guinhawa | Last updated 5/19/24

Bronny James just turned everyone’s expectations around when he performed well at the NBA Draft Combine. For NBA legend Kevin Garnett , though, he’s seeing shades of the late Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant in LeBron James’ eldest son.

Bronny first came into the scene when LeBron claimed he’s going to play his final season in the NBA with him. Since then, scouts, reporters, and fans have always paid attention to his development to see whether he’s talented and worthy enough to play in the league.

Even before he played his first game as a college freshman for the USC Trojans, Bronny suffered a cardiac arrest caused by a congenital heart disease. Fortunately, the younger James recovered and went on to play one full NCAA season.

The thing is, his numbers didn’t exactly impress anyone. In the 25 PAC-12 games he played, James averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 19.3 minutes on the floor. Furthermore, the former Trojans star’s performance stayed the same during the NCAA Tournament when he posted 4.8 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 20 games.

NBA Legend Kevin Garnett Sees Similarities Between Bronny James and Los Angeles Lakers Icon Kobe Bryant

Even though his college stint didn’t exactly go as planned, James’ performance during the NBA Draft Combine had everyone buzzing. Among those who reacted was NBA legend Kevin Garnett in an article written by Andrew Peters for Bleacher Report:

“If I am a team bro, I would actually take a chance on that,” Garnett said. “Because greatness runs through bro’s veins. You got to know at some point, he’s going to have a growth spurt and it’s going to click.”

Garnett compared James to NBA legend Kobe Bryant, saying the potential is there even though James didn’t have the most accomplished high school or college career.

“[Bryant] had great bones and great makeup to build off of,” Garnett said. “Bronny shows some of that same make. I’m not calling him young Kobe or none of that, but I’m saying that’s potential,” Peters wrote.

Bronny’s recent performance at the Combine yielded a team-high 13 points on 4-of-10 shooting from the field within 23 minutes on the court. He also recorded 40.5 inch vertical, which was the fourth-highest among the participants.

It’s not yet known whether James will go in the first round, the second, or continue his stint in college. Nevertheless, a lot of eyes will be on LeBron’s son in the coming weeks to see if he can make the leap as a professional hooper or not.

This article first appeared on Hardwood Heroics and was syndicated with permission.

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