"The look he gave me": Gilbert Arenas reveals the moment when 13-year-old Bronny James shut him down

Bronny James, son of LA Lakers superstar forward LeBron James, has been the center of attention during his freshman season with the USC Trojans. Most scouts are still determining whether the 19-year-old guard is worthy of 2024 NBA draft consideration. However, according to former NBA star Gilbert Arenas, Bronny has long been special.

During a recent appearance on “Podcast P with Paul George,” Arenas recounted the time that LeBron asked him to scout Bronny in the eighth grade.

According to Arenas, the then-13-year-old had speed, IQ and passing skills comparable to his father at the same age. Additionally, he noted that Bronny was a little stronger, more athletic and a better shooter and dribbler.

Arenas said that LeBron agreed with his assessment and asked him to train Bronny. He accepted and began conducting workouts with him at UCLA.

Per Arenas, the workouts included an older prospect, Skyy Clark, now a sophomore guard for the Louisville Cardinals. The three-time All-Star said that Clark was “much better” than Bronny, leading to him “getting beat on.”

So, he decided to challenge the then-13-year-old, to which he rose to the occasion and then some. It was at that point that Arenas realized that Bronny had a very bright future.

“I was like, ‘Hey, man, stand up for yourself, man,’” Arenas said. “The look he gave me, (he) got the ball, bruh, came down, Euro’d with the palm, just palmed it, like a Kawhi (Leonard) palm, boom, boom, and went to the rim. I’m like, ‘Oh, s**t.’ And then (he) ran the crew, 5-0’d all of ’em. I called Bron like, ‘Yeah, you ain’t gotta worry.’”

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Gilbert Arenas likens Bronny James to Jrue Holiday

During a recent episode of his podcast “Gil’s Arena,” Gilbert Arenas discussed Bronny James’ NBA potential.

Arenas likened Bronny’s ceiling to Boston Celtics star guard Jrue Holiday. However, he noted that the 19-year-old has to be more aggressive to reach his full potential.

“Bronny … he’s a Jrue Holiday, just more athletic,” Arenas said. “If he turns on his tiger, for sure. He just plays the right way. What happens is, we don’t know what he really is.

"It’s like, he has the Bugatti engine, but he wants to drive the speed limit. He doesn’t want a ticket. … That’s how he uses his body.”

(2:01:07 mark below)

Holiday is widely considered one of the NBA’s top two-way guards. So, the comparison is certainly high praise from Arenas. However, most would agree that Bronny still has a long way to go before reaching the level of the two-time All-Star.

Through 11 games with USC, Bronny is averaging 5.9 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 0.8 steals per game on 38.1% shooting.

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