The spotlight always seems to shine on Bronny James — whether the 19-year-old wants it to or not. The eldest son of NBA legend LeBron James, expectations and hype have followed Bronny since junior high school, and his commitment to join the USC Trojans basketball team was highly publicized. However, Bronny’s freshman season did not go as planned, and his basketball future is in the air.
Bronny, too, is alleged to be exploring the college equivalent of free agency. According to Kaiden Smith of On3, based on a since-deleted report from reporter Dick Weiss, the 19-year-old former four-star recruit out of Chatsworth’s Sierra Canyon School is looking to enter the NCAA’s transfer portal now that his 2023-24 season head coach Andy Enfield is departing for Southern Methodist University.
Bronny suffered a cardiac arrest over the summer that delayed the start of his NCAA career. After posting stats that were below expectation as a freshman — and with his role uncertain following the departure of the Trojans’ head coach — Bronny has made a decision that could cause an earthquake in men’s college basketball.
Bronny, a 6’4” guard, averaged 4.8 points on 37 percent shooting in 25 games this season. He played 19 minutes per game as USC limped to a 15-18 season, missing the NCAA Tournament. James slid in mock NBA drafts throughout the year, and LeBron angrily tweeted a defense of his son in February that was blasted in the media.
Now, Bronny is looking to start fresh somewhere else. His Akron-native dad has long maintained that had he opted for college and not played in the league at age 18 in 2003 (under a prior CBA), he would have played at Ohio State University. Bronny, too, was born in Akron, although he grew up traveling with his dad at his various stops in Ohio, Miami, Ohio again, and finally Los Angeles.