LeBron James’ immediate goal is to win another NBA championship with the Los Angeles Lakers. But in the longer term, he wants to play in the league starting in 2024 with his oldest son, LeBron Jr., who goes by the name of Bronny.
“I have to lay on the floor with my boy,” James told ESPN in January, recalling a childhood situation where Ken Griffey and his son, Ken Griffey Jr., played for the Seattle Mariners. “I have to lie on the floor with Bronny.”
Bronny James, a 6-foot-3 guard, kept that goal on track Saturday by verbally pledging to play college basketball next season at the University of Southern California. He was on court Saturday night as the Lakers took a 2-1 lead in their Western Conference semifinal series with the Golden State Warriors.
“First of all, congratulations to my son on his next trip and choosing a great college in USC,” said LeBron James after posting 21 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists as the Lakers won Game 3, 127-97, in Los Angeles . “I’m proud of him. This is something incredible.”
LeBron James added that he believed Bronny would be the first member of his family, the “first of the James gang”, to attend college.
Bronny James made his announcement on Instagram where he has over seven million followers. His account featured a photo of him in the locker room in Southern California, along with the caption, “Fight On #committed.” USC is sponsored by Nike, which has invested heavily in his father since he entered the NBA as a generational phenomenon in 2003.
At USC, Bronny James plans to join a classmate from the Sierra Canyon, Juju Watkins, the top rated girl candidate in senior class. Both players have endorsement deals with Nike, and Bronny James also has one with Beats by Dre.
Memphis and Ohio State, the school LeBron says he would have attended had he gone to college instead of going straight from high school to the NBA as the No. 1 overall choice, were among the other universities that related to Bronny James. He visited the state of Ohio with his father in September, and fans at the football game that weekend chanted“We want Bronny.”
Bronny James had less fanfare as a prospect than his father (of course, few high school students get the treatment that LeBron James had). He is ranked as a four-star candidate by recruiting site 247Sports, which rates him as the No. 26 prospect in the senior league.
He won’t be the highest-ranking recruit for USC. That honor belongs to Isaiah Collier, a five-star contender from Marietta, Georgia, who is rated the No. 1 point guard in the class.
Still, Collier was busy recruiting Bronny James on the recent showcase circuit.
“‘Stay home,’ that’s my pitch,” Collier told reporters last month at the Nike Hoop Summit in Portland, Oregon, where both players competed. “Why Leave LA?”
The book so far on Bronny James is that he has a sharp basketball IQ and an improved jump shot, but he lacks elite athleticism. He averaged 14 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.8 steals per game at Sierra Canyon last season, but was a second-team all-league selection.
“He’s solid,” said Thaddeus Young, who finished his 16th NBA season and sponsored a grassroots team that took on James last summer at the Nike Peach Jam. His assessment was largely echoed by college coaches and NBA scouts. “Of course, probably not the elite of the elite. But he’s athletic, he’s strong, he defends, he can shoot the ball well, he can run the point guard position, he can play off-ball,” he said.
Still, some colleges were hesitant to hire Bronny James. There were multiple factors at play for any coach considering hiring him. What happens if he doesn’t play well enough to earn a lot of playing time? What if the team is doing well, but he’s struggling? What if the team doesn’t do well at all? How will security and locker room access be handled when LeBron James and his wife, Savannah, attend games? Considering that Bronny did significant potential for individual approval agreementswill there be extra pressure to play him?
Bronny James, who turns 19 in October, is widely expected to spend one season in college before entering the NBA draft in 2024, when his father turns 40. years removed from their high school graduating class. That rule was renewed in a recent collective bargaining agreement between the NBA players’ union and team owners, despite some campaigns in college sports for athletes to go straight out of high school.
LeBron James was asked on Saturday whether it remains his goal to play with his son.
“We will support him whatever he decides to do,” he said. “Because that is my goal and my goal does not mean it is his goal. And I’m absolutely OK with that. It is my job to support my son, whatever he wants to do.”
Bronny James is being projected as an NBA lottery pick by some design experts. However, the Lakers have no pick for the first round in 2024 and LeBron has a player option for the 2024-25 season.
All of that makes it unclear how Bronny James could end up on the same team as his famous dad.
Sopan Deb contributed reporting from Los Angeles.