Rick Carlisle Predicts Bronny James Will Be Drafted ‘Quite a Bit Higher’ Than No. 50

Andrew PetersJune 13, 2024

Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images

Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle believes LeBron James’ son and NBA draft prospect Bronny James won’t be available for the Pacers to select at No. 50, he said on Green Light with Chris Long.

“I’m going to go out on a limb here and predict that he goes quite a bit higher than that,” Carlisle said.

chris long @JOEL9ONERick Carlisle thinks Bronny James has a shot to potentially be drafted in round 1

Full episode with Rick available on @YouTube https://t.co/5SpnIxrlTt pic.twitter.com/SraojgSytH

The Pacers have the 49th and 50th picks in this month’s draft, which seemed like an appropriate range for James to land, but the one-and-done from USC has made a case to be a slightly higher pick in recent weeks.

While his numbers with the Trojans don’t jump off the page, he displayed his athleticism and had solid shooting numbers at last month’s NBA combine.

Jonathan Givony @DraftExpressBronny James just crushed the 3-point star shooting drill at the NBA draft combine. 19/25, good for second place. pic.twitter.com/50UVXXy3GY

Recently, James met with the Phoenix Suns and reportedly “had a strong workout.” As the NBA draft nears, he’ll look to impress more teams to help his draft stock rise.

Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman projects James to land with the Los Angeles Lakers with the No. 55 overall pick in his most recent mock draft. If James is still available that late in the draft, it seems reasonable that the Lakers would take him considering the connection to his father, but Carlisle seems confident he’ll be off the board by then.

If Carlisle is that high on James, perhaps he will urge the Pacers’ front office to take him with their No. 36 pick.