Bronny James is a year away from the NBA, leaving Dad LeBron’s shadow

The four-time NBA champion, four-time league MVP, and 19-time All-Star is officially the NBA’s all-time scoring champion, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring record in February 2023.

Alongside Michael Jordan, he is the most mentioned player in the NBA GOAT debate.

LeBron is one of the first athletes to become a billionaire. In addition to his growing extrajudicial ventures, he has earned $432 million during his 20-year NBA career. He also signed a two-year, $97 million extension with the Lakers that will net him $141 million over the next three years and make him the highest-earning player in NBA history.

Bronny (alongside LeBron) recently celebrated his senior night with his younger brother Bryce; his mother, Savannah; and little sister, Zhuri.

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 key enabler.

While a dark horse school could yet emerge, Duke isn’t on the list, though they’ve long been considered a favorite for Bronny James due to LeBron James’ admiration for famed trainer Mike Krzyzewski. In 2018, LeBron defended Coach K from criticism with a comment on social media that read, “Dear Coach K! The absolute BEST! Hopefully he’s still at the helm when my boy shows up.”

Unfortunately for Duke, however, Krzyzewski retired after the 2021-22 season and the currently unranked Blue Devils no longer appear to be contenders.

“I gotta be grounded with my boy, I gotta be grounded with Bronny,” James told ESPN. “Either in the same uniform or in a matchup against him. I don’t mean how [guarding one another all game] – because he’s a point guard and I’m a, at this point I’m going to play center or whatever the team needs me to do. But I’d love to do the whole thing with Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr. That would definitely be ideal.”

The game closed families circle as LeBron and Melo were drafted that same year and later played together for Team USA and the Lakers. Despite being a free agent, Anthony still had hopes of playing in the 2022-23 season, making him the only player from that legendary draft still active in the NBA.

The James Gang won the game.

Prior to the recent projections, there was some thought that younger brother Bryce might prove to be the better Hooper. One advantage he has is that he’s already taller than Bronny despite being three years younger than his 18-year-old brother.

Bronny is a 6-foot-3, 180-pound point guard in his senior season at Sierra Canyon High School, just outside of Los Angeles, and is ranked No. 28 in ESPN’s class of 2023. He’s one of only two Players in the top 60 who have yet to sign a school.

A recent consensus of NBA pundits, collegiate coaches and talent evaluators seemed to think he was already an elite defender who displayed brilliant flashes on offense but was too inconsistent to be a team’s number one threat. While he may not have finished growing, his NBA future was considered a role player or reserve player, one who specialized on defense and complements at the other end.

In an ESPN mock draft, Jonathan Givony raised eyebrows by predicting Bronny would finish 10th in the 2024 NBA draft to the Orlando Magic. According to Givony, the draft class is considered “weak” overall, with Bronny being one of 14 predicted one-and-done players to be drafted after a college season. But while his peers haven’t improved, Bronny has upped his game.

“James earned his place in lottery talks with the significant jump he made this season at Sierra Canyon in Chatsworth, Calif., evolving into arguably the best fullback in his high school class while making strides in his skills at outdoor shooting and game setup. ‘ Giveny wrote. “James has grown, filled his frame, found another gear with his explosiveness and has become an absolute terror off the ball defensively thanks to his outstanding intensity and feel. He still has plenty of room to improve his ball handling and pull-up jumpers to become a more productive and efficient shot maker, but he’s already caught the attention of NBA decision-makers with the way he contributes to winning , and will likely continue to grow and fill its game.

Jordan’s two sons, Marcus and Jeffrey, both played Division I college basketball, but neither was ever a serious NBA prospect.

The cover was reminiscent of a high school aged LeBron’s famous “Chosen One” cover, as can be seen on the shirt he’s wearing.

LeBron owns two mansions in LA and it’s not clear which one the family lives in, but they’re both pretty nice.

Although the classic “do-we-have-to-take-a-picture” face on Bronny suggests this part isn’t all that fabulous.

Of all the perks Bronny could have, the greatest is being able to take on one of the greatest basketball players of all time, all in his own driveway.

LeBron is a tireless worker and seems to have passed that on to Bronny. This also appears to have helped the younger James rise up the draft boards while his peers did not.

Recent rule changes allow high school and collegiate athletes to get paid for their name, likeness and likeness (NIL) without losing NCAA eligibility. Bronny already has a deal with Nike. LeBron signed with Nike after high school and now even has a building on the campus in Beaverton, Oregon named after him.

He starred alongside his father in this promotion for PlayStation and the game God of War: Ragnorak.

His dad didn’t do that in high school.

Lebron recently overtook Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s top scorer, and Bronny was there as he filmed along with most of the other fans. Bronny will soon be contributing to the family’s scoring legacy.