(Getty Images)

LeBron James has raised three more beautiful children than I have, and scored 39,566 more NBA points. And that’s not even counting the playoffs.

So these are areas where he can claim greater personal expertise. I merely have been an observer in both. One can learn by watching, though, and by listening. There have been plenty of overzealous parents who crossed my path in four decades of covering basketball, who have pushed for their sons to accelerate their development beyond the speed limit, so to speak. And given all that’s occurred around LeBron’s son, Bronny, there’s no reason he should place himself in their company.

Perhaps LeBron was making a statement about how dreadful the Lakers have been lately when he told a reporter, Claire de Lune of The Guardian, his son “could play for us right now. Easy. EASY.”

Entering Wednesday night’s game at Pac-12 Conference power Arizona, however, Bronny James has played in nine career college games and scored 47 points. Not per game. Total. He has made 35 percent of his field goal tries and 23 percent of his threes. Coach Andy Enfield has played him 18 minutes per game, on average, as the Trojans compiled a 3-6 record in those games.

Enfield has been coaching the Trojans since 2014 and reached five of nine possible NCAA Tournaments. He was the coach of the “Dunk City” Florida Gulf Coast team that defeated Georgetown and San Diego State to reach the 2013 NCAA Sweet 16, the first No. 15 seed ever to advance that far in March Madness.

Now, given USC’s surprising struggles – a losing record at 8-9 overall and 2-4 in the conference – wouldn’t a capable coach such as Enfield be endeavoring to get the most out of a player who was ready to enter the Lakers’ rotation “right now”?

There is a reasonable explanation for the gradual start to Bronny’s college career. He had heart surgery in the summer, following a frightening episode in which he suffered cardiac arrest during a team workout in late July. He was diagnosed as having a congenital heart defect, but it was deemed treatable.

Following his recovery period, Bronny joined the Trojans for full practices in early December and made his debut in a Dec. 10 game against Long Beach State. He has produced two double-figure scoring games, his best a 15-point outing in a win at Oregon State.

A 6-2, 170-pound guard, Bronny has not made a basket in his past three games, going a combined 0-for-14 from the floor. Coincidentally or not, those three performances followed his father’s ready-for-the-NBA proclamation. He started the last of those, on the road against NCAA Tournament contender Colorado, and went 0-for-7 from the field in 25 minutes, his longest outing as a collegian. The uptick in minutes and insertion into the starting lineup was also more about an injury to USC star Isaiah Collier than Bronny’s recent play.

LeBron has talked ambitiously about the desire to play in the NBA alongside his son before retiring. He said it as early as February 2021 at the NBA All-Star Game, when Bronny still was 16. James admitted then it was “a long-term goal.”

“Right now”, two years later, does not sound long term.

And perhaps if there had been no heart scare, and if James were playing at the same level as the son of 1998 NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player Jeff Sheppard, a 2024 NBA Draft timetable would be reasonable. But even as wonderfully as Reed Sheppard has performed, with averages of 12 points, 4 assists and 54 percent 3-point shooting, there’s been no grand proclamation that Sheppard could crack the Hawks’ rotation easy. It’s still plenty challenging to pursue victories in the Southeastern Conference.

(Getty Images)

Bronny’s father was the greatest pure basketball prospect this nation has produced. His potential was obvious after his freshman year of high school to the late scouting genius Tom Konchalski. I saw LeBron after his sophomore year and compared watching him to my older sisters seeing The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show. “Magic Johnson’s head on Michael Jordan’s body”, I wrote.

Bronny was the consensus No. 17 prospect in the 2023 recruiting class, which has been one of the leanest in the past three decades. Rivals and 247 Sports both had him at No. 26.

Given the skill work and conditioning time Bronny lost in the last summer and autumn, he almost certainly needs another year of pre-NBA development before he’ll be prepared to challenge for an NBA roster spot on anything other than a first-name basis.

LeBron James may be eager to retire but to first see the dream of playing alongside his son fulfilled. What better legacy could he leave, though, than a son who’s fully ready to make a career of competing in the league on his terms, on his ability?

I may not be a parent, but I am a son, and my father allowed me to follow the career path I chose, at my own pace.