LOS ANGELES (AFP) — LeBron James’ son, Bronny, said he will enter the 2024 National Basketball Association draft despite a low-key first year in college basketball with the University of Southern California.
James said on Instagram that he would enter the draft while also entering the National Collegiate Athletic Association transfer portal that would allow him to move to another college team.
“I’ve had a year with some ups and downs but all added to growth for me as a man, student and athlete,” he wrote.
He also thanked USC and their staff for their support in his freshman season.
Bronny James collapsed suddenly during training with the USC team in Los Angeles in July.
The cardiac arrest episode and subsequent treatment for a heart defect sidelined James for five months and led to a relatively low-key season for a player who had been an All-American in high school.
James, who played his first game in December averaged 4.8 points a game in the 24 games he played in.
Should Bronny be taken by a team in the NBA draft it would raise the possibility of him being on the same court as his father, who will be 40 in December.
LeBron James, who passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar last season to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, is unlikely to push for his son to join him at the Lakers, however.
Agent Rich Paul, who manages both LeBron and his son, told ESPN in March that LeBron would be “head over heels excited if that were to happen organically” but that “LeBron wants Bronny to be his own man.”
“I’ve done what I’ve had to do in this league and my son is going to take his journey,” James said in a previous statement.
“And whatever his journey, however his journey lays out, he’s going to do what’s best for him. And as his dad, and his mom, Savannah, and his brother and sister, we’re going to support him in whatever he decides to do. So, just because that’s my aspiration or my goal, doesn’t mean it’s his. And I’m absolutely okay with that.”
Scouts claimed that Bronny would hear his name somewhere in the middle of the second round due to his 6-foot-4 frame and 27-percent three-point shooting at USC.
