Bear Witness: The Arrival of Bronny James

Competitive basketball returns to the city of Houston this week! The lowly Houston Rockets are taking a backseat to this weekend’s NCAA Final Four festivities and events. Before those college fireworks begin, the country’s most outstanding high school basketball players displayed their talents in the annual McDonald’s All-American Games. The games, which took place in Houston on Tuesday night, featured the top boys and girls competing in a doubleheader that did not disappoint. In the center of all the hoopla was Sierra Canyon High School guard LeBron (Bronny) James Jr. Among all the talented players present, it felt like the arrival of Bronny James onto the national stage was what got everyone’s attention.

Toyota Center, Houston, Texas

I was in the building to bear witness. As were former star players like Jermaine O’Neal, Steve Francis, TJ Ford, and Hall-of-Famer Calvin Murphy. As were celebrities such as Caleb McLaughlin (Stranger Things) and The Professor (And 1 Mix Tapes). The crowd buzzed pregame as the legend himself, LeBron James, and his whole family shuffled towards their courtside seats. LeBron had a must-win Laker game at Chicago the following evening, but family came first. Peja Stojakovic, a former Sacramento Kings star and NBA Champion (2011 Dallas Mavericks), was present to watch his son Andrej Stojakovic (Stanford University commit) perform. Former NBA players and McDonald’s All-American alum Dajuan Wagner and Milt Wagner came to see son and grandson D.J. Wagner (University of Kentucky commit).

McDonald’s All-American Ladies

I want to take a moment to acknowledge the exceptional talent the girls displayed in the first game of the doubleheader. Stand-out players include Amanda Muse (UCLA), a forward with tremendous post skills. Mikaylah Williams (LSU) was aggressive early and looked like the MVP front-runner. Milaysia Fulwiley (South Carolina) ignited the crowd throughout the first half with her incredible athleticism and shooting. The co-MVP Award for Juju Watkins (USC) and Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame) was well-earned. I was thoroughly impressed by Watkins’ all-around game and relentless attack under duress. The defensive pressure provided by Hidalgo resulted in 8 steals, and she was the most entertaining player I watched all night. Hidalgo scored a McDonald’s All-American girls’ game record 26 points. Watkins responded with 25 points and the victory.

McDonald’s All-American Boys

Bronny James came off the bench for this showdown, which was expected, considering most ranking systems list him as the 20th-best prospect or worse. Bronny mainly played point guard and displayed excellent shooting to log his 15 points on 5-8 three-point shooting.

An expected showdown between Isaiah Collier (USC) and D.J. Wagner failed to materialize in the first half due to Wagner’s lack of aggressiveness. Wagner, ESPN’s #2 player in the country, had 3 points at halftime but exploded in the final quarter to score 19 points and the winning free throws. With his team down one point, Collier led all scorers with 25 points but missed critical free throw attempts in the last 10 seconds. Wagner and Collier shared MVP honors.

Bronny James Analysis

My take on Bronny James is that he is legit. Bronny did not look out of place among the best hoopers his age. I loved the highlighter pink Nike shoes. They starkly contrasted the McDonald’s All-American Adidas shoes that most other players wore. His game had a certain maturity or controlled aggression. The defense could not speed him up, and his mistakes, which included a few turnovers, were from trying to make difficult passes. Bronny matched up with D.J. Wagner for some time in the first half, which might explain Wagner’s slow start. You can tell by his movements that he will be a player who watches much tape at the next level—studying opponent tendencies and taking advantage of their defensive lapses. He was not the best player on the court, but overall it was a solid performance.

Bronny James lived up to the hype in that he is not hyped up based on his name. He channels an actual all-around game that seamlessly fits in with the country’s best players. Like father, like son. James must still announce where he is headed next season. Is anyone else ready for the sequel to The Decision?

BRONNY JUMPS OVER BRYCE ? @SCNext #PoweradeJamFest pic.twitter.com/SslljDDlPE

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 28, 2023

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