NBA Champion Metta World Peace Says Bronny James Could Have NBA All-Star Potential

Former NBA star Metta World Peace remains bullish on Bronny James' potential at the next level despite his disappointing freshman season at USC.

World Peace told TMZ Sports that James "has a shot to be a really good point guard" and perhaps even an All-Star in the NBA. The 2010 champion isn't reading much into the 6'4" guard's struggles early into his Trojans tenure.

James never seemed to find his footing this year after suffering cardiac arrest during the offseason, which delayed his college debut until mid-December. He appeared in 25 games and averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists.

In the earliest versions of 2024 NBA mock drafts, well before the 2023-24 season tipped off, some wondered whether James might be a first-round or perhaps even a lottery pick. Now, staying at USC and delaying his pro dreams looks like it could be his best path forward.

Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman omitted James from his most recent mock draft and provided a wider evaluation of his game and draft outlook. He said a team might be tempted by James' potential as a three-and-D guard along with the chance of landing Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James as a package deal.

"However, his scoring inefficiency has raised questions about his ability to create, finish in the half court and hit jumpers consistently," Wasserman wrote. "He hasn't demonstrated any single, convincing skill for scoring at the next level. And teams might not believe James' defense and passing IQ are enough to justify NBA minutes."

Maybe James' NBA ceiling is still very high, much higher than he has shown so far at USC. Returning to the Trojans would allow him to prove just that.