LeBron James’ son Bronny has committed to USC as the teenager took a step closer to playing with his iconic father in the NBA.
On Saturday, Bronny took to Instagram to announce his commitment to USC, who where vying with Ohio State and Oregon for his services. Bronny recently completed his senior season of high school basketball at Sierra Canyon and he was widely expected to go to college before entering the NBA.
His father is a vocal supporter and the Los Angeles Lakers superstar has publicly declared he wants to extend his career in order to play with the 18-year-old in the NBA. Bronny is considered one of the top five point guards in the country for his class, while he earned McDonald’s All American honours this past season.
After the Lakers secured a 127-97 win over the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of their Western Conference semi-finals, James declared his pride in his son's achievement. The four-time MVP said: “Congratulations to my son on his next journey, on picking a great university. I’m proud of him.”
The 38-year-old is intent on playing with Bronny in the NBA and has declared a number of times that he will prolong his illustrious career in order to do so. Bronny's high school career has underlined his potential as a reliable shooter from deep and one of the better defenders for his age.
In accordance with NBA rules, players must wait until one year after their class graduates high school before they are eligible to be drafted, which means Bronny won’t be able to enter the league until the 2024/25 season. James underlined his desire to once again play alongside his son, adding: “I was serious. And I'm still serious about it. Obviously, I've got to continue to keep my body and my mind fresh, I think my mind most importantly… But at the end of the day, I've done what I had to do in this league, and my son is going to take his journey.
“Just because it's my aspiration [to play together] doesn't mean it's his, and I'm absolutely OK with that. My job is just to support my son in whatever he wants to do… One thing about being a parent is it's not always about what you want. It's about listening to your kids and what they want, and that's when you get a real relationship.”
Bronny chose the Trojans over fellow finalists Oregan and Ohio State following a long and highly-anticipated recruitment process. His father is clearly proud, suggesting his son is set to be the first person from the family to go to college.
“This is an incredible thing,” James said. “Obviously, his dad didn't go to school. His mom didn't go to college. It's super cool…
“USC is getting a great kid. He's there to play basketball, [but] they're going to be super surprised at how great a kid he is, even though they've been recruiting him for a while.”
James could - and likely will - opt out of the last year of his current deal with the Lakers to become an unrestricted free agent in the 2024 offseason. This would allow James to sign with any franchise, which appears to ultimately be the team that drafts Bronny next year.
