Here's what you need to know about Bronny James, whose decision raises the possibility he'll play in the NBA alongside his father next season.
With the name LeBron Raymond James Jr., Bronny will always face high expectations. His basketball talents have been on display since he was in grade school, in viral videos. “He's already got offers from a couple of colleges,” LeBron James admitted in 2015, without naming them. “It's pretty crazy. It should be illegal. You shouldn't be recruiting a 10-year-old.”
But LeBron James has long discussed the possibility of joining the NHL's Howes and MLB's Griffeys as a father-son duo.
“I need to be on the court with my son. I need to be on the court with Bronny,” James, now 39, told ESPN in January. “Either wearing the same uniform or playing against him. … But I'd love to play all the games with Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr., that would definitely be ideal. … He's said he wants to play in the NBA, so if that's what you want to do, you've got to work for it. I'm already here, I'm just waiting for him.”
Fairy tales have taken a winding path
But while Bronny was a phenom, he wasn't a once-in-a-lifetime prospect like his father. Unlike LeBron, he went to college and enrolled at the University of Southern California last summer after performing well in the McDonald's All-American Game and the Nike Hoop Summit. But he went into cardiac arrest during practice in July. The following month, the James family announced that Bronny “has significant anatomical and functional congenital heart disease that can and will be treated.”
Bronny was eventually cleared to return to the court and made his collegiate debut in mid-December. He averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 19.4 minutes for the Trojans, who went 15-18 but finished last in the Pac-12 Conference. Just before the draft combine this month, he was medically cleared by the NBA's Fitness to Play Panel to play, according to a source at ESPN. His decision to turn pro means he will begin working out with potential teams ahead of the draft on June 26-27.
Bronny's star has been on the rise recently, and his strong performance in pre-draft workouts has boosted his status as a draft prospect. Though he was ranked 54th in ESPN's Top 100, he impressed scouts at the draft combine, finishing second out of 71 prospects in two three-point shooting drills and scoring 13 points in a team scrimmage. He continued to perform well at the Pro Day held at the Los Angeles Lakers' practice facility last week, showcasing his explosiveness and accurate perimeter shooting.
The James brothers joining forces may seem fated, but it's by no means a certainty. Bronny must either get drafted or, if not, sign with a team as a free agent. Conveniently, his father has a contract extension with the Lakers in 2022 and can opt out and become a free agent this summer. LeBron has until June 29, two days after the draft, to choose whether or not to play another year with the Lakers.
LeBron's ability to control his future and Bronny's decision to enter the draft despite a lackluster freshman season at USC fueled speculation that the two would end up on the same team, but LeBron tried to quell those rumors as his oft-stated hopes grew closer to reality.
“I haven't really thought about it recently. Of course, I've thought about it in the past,” he told reporters last month as the Lakers' season ended in the first round of the playoffs. “At the end of the day, the kid has to do what he wants to do. I don't even want to say 'the kid' anymore. It's the young man deciding what he wants to do and how he wants to proceed with his career. I think the fact that we're even having this conversation is pretty awesome in itself.”
