Bronny James will be staying close to home for college and keeping it in the family.
The eldest son of NBA legend LeBron James announced on Instagram that he is committed to playing basketball at USC.
The decision keeps Bronny close to his Los Angeles home and also keeps him in the Nike family. LeBron has a lifetime contract with the shoe and lifestyle brand and Bronny has already signed an NIL deal with Nike.
This is just the latest move in the fabulous life of a teenager who now appears to be destined for NBA stardom.
Bronny’s dad, LeBron James, is one of the most accomplished players in NBA history.
LeBron is also one of the wealthiest athletes ever.
Bronny, whose real name is LeBron James Jr., is turning into quite the ballplayer himself.Bronny is reportedly considering three different Division I programs — all sponsored by Nike, of course — for his collegiate basketball career: 1) USC, which is close to his LA home, friends, and family; 2) Ohio State, Akron-native LeBron’s favorite school; and 3) Oregon, which has the strongest ties to Nike, with CEO Phil Knight a major booster.
One school notably absent from Bronny’s list was Duke.
LeBron has said that it’s his goal to play in the NBA with his son.“I need to be on the floor with my boy, I got to be on the floor with Bronny,” James told ESPN. “Either in the same uniform or a matchup against him. I don’t mean like [guarding one another all game] — because he’s a point guard and I’m a, at this point now I’m playing center or whatever the team needs from me. But I would love to do the whole Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr. thing. That would be ideal for sure.”
Bronny and Bryce recently faced off against Carmelo Anthony’s son.The game brought the families full-circle as LeBron and Melo were drafted in the same year and later played together for Team USA and the Lakers. While Anthony is a free agent, he was still hoping to play during the 2022-23 season, making him the only player from that legendary draft still active in the NBA. The James Gang won the game.
The sons could give LeBron bragging rights over Michael Jordan.Jordan’s two sons, Marcus and Jeffrey, both played Division I college basketball, but neither was ever a serious NBA prospect.
Both sons have already been on the cover of Sports Illustrated.The cover echoed the famous “Chosen One” cover of a high school-aged LeBron, as seen on the shirt he is wearing.
Bronny also followed in his dad’s footsteps by being named a McDonald’s All-American.Twenty years after LeBron Sr. played in the McDonald’s All-American game, LeBron Jr. did the same.
He is also cashing in on the new NIL landscape.
Bronny is said to have the highest NIL value among athletes.On3’s NIL rankings give Bronny an NIL value of $7.4 million, tops on their list and more than twice as much as the next athletes, LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne ($3.5 million). James has 12.8 million combined followers on Instagram and TikTok.
