Bronny James may not be the best rookie entering the NBA this season but his presence could be a boost to the Euros entering the league. Emmet Ryan on how the son of LeBron James could, with no effort of his own, make life easier for the likes of Zaccharie Risacher, Alex Sarr, and Matas Buzelis.
The 55th pick of the NBA draft has likely never drawn this much attention. Certainly not before they actually played a game in the NBA proper. Bronny James is, of course, an exception. Being the son of LeBron James can have that effect. It turns out, his presence may be having another impact. One that will benefit the glut of Euros entering the NBA this season.
A top heavy Euro draft
The discussion at the 2023 NBA draft was all about a European, namely Victor Wembanyama. Strangely, the more Euro heavy 2024 draft (at least towards the top) didn’t lead to the same impact.
There were five Europeans drafted as lottery picks. This included both of the top two picks, Zaccharie Risacher and Alex Sarr. Indeed, that both were Frenchmen was a secondary factor. So too was the fact that France accounted for 5 of the 58 draft picks made.
It was similar enough for Matas Buzelis (Lithuania), Nikola Topic (Serbia), and Tristan Da Silva (Germany). The odd thing is, this might well turn out to be a good thing. The normal narrative is to say that it’s unfair that a pick with name value, like Bronny James, is stealing the spotlight. That’s not how I see it. There’s a thing that happens when you steal the spotlight.
Deflecting the glare
All eyes in pre-season, when it comes to rookies, are on Bronny James. He’s a home run for soft focus stories. Get those pics of him and LeBron James playing together or working out. Show him enjoying being there with his Dad. Then the regular season will come, there’ll be a moment with both of them on the court.
After that, well he’ll either be feted or eviscerated depending on his performance. Either way, it’s going to be well into November before anyone is putting the other rookies in focus. With the exception of Matas Buzelis, who was part of G League Ignite, this is a wildly new experience for the Euro rookies.
Zaccharie Risacher was able to blossom in Eurocup and France’s LNB last season. Alex Sarr took the increasingly popular option of a single season in Australia’s NBL to develop away from most casual eyes. Tidjaune Salaün (6th overall pick) was in the Basketball Champions League and LNB. This is a big adjustment for all of them. With less media glare, they’ll be able to focus more on their development.
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A natural progression
Even the absolute best Euro rookies in the NBA had some raw moments in their maiden campaigns. Luka Doncic was arguably the most put together of any in recent years and he still needed many months to truly find his rhythm. Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Franz Wagner all point to similar situations where they need some development.
Zaccharie Risacher will have Bogdan Bogdanovic as a guide to the adjustment with the Atlanta Hawks. Matas Buzelis joins a Chicago Bulls team well used to managing the transition for Euro rookies. Tristan Da Silva has two fellow Germans, Mo Wagner and the aforementioned Franz, to help in him Orlando.
Granted, Alex Sarr will be with the Washington Wizards so nothing is perfect. Even he will still be able to lean on countryman Bilal Coulibaly and Lithuanian vet Jonas Valanciunas. In circumstances where their every step would be microanalysed normally, they’ll have a lot more wriggle room. Bronny James is the story right now with rookies. He’s going to be for a while.
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Still room to stand out
Remember Linsanity? That was a month. At a stretch you could say six weeks. Really, it was a month. The news cycle moves with public interest. It’s going to be the same to some degree with Bronny James. Eventually, he’s just going to be another player. He’ll always be the son of LeBron James but, no matter how he performs, there’s only so much that people will want to stomach.
NFL writers found that out the hard way with Tim Tebow. It’s going to be similar with Bronny in the NBA. Granted, Caitlin Clark has been a top topic for the guts of a year now but there are wild circumstances there. March Madness leading effectively right into the start of the WNBA season and then the Olympic kerfuffle meant there was always something new to add.
Even then, the Clark stories helped bring more players in the WNBA and their achievements to a wider audience. It’s reasonable to think that should Zaccharie Risacher or Matas Buzelis ball out as rookies, or even hit some big highlights, they’ll make big noise. All of these players, including Alex Sarr on the abominable Wizards, look reasonably safe from the worst of criticism as rookies.
That said, if one of them becomes a perennial on Shaqtin a Fool, all bets are off. Right now, the deflection of attention caused by Bronny James is a positive for the NBA’s new Euros.
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