Bryce James, the younger son of LeBron James, has announced his intention to play college basketball for the University of Arizona as part of the 2025 recruiting class, in an attempt to jumpstart his basketball career.
The 17-year-old James also received offers from Ohio State University and Duquesne College. Last summer, he was called up to the U.S. U-17 team. In a recent tournament organized by Nike, the young James played 14 games, where he averaged 6.9 points and 2.2 rebounds per game. He shot 39% from the field and 36.8% from three. His high was a game in which he scored 21 points and grabbed 6 rebounds.
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Bryce James, the younger son of LeBron James, has announced his intention to play college basketball for the University of Arizona
(Photo: Gregory Payan/AP)
Arizona, the college where Bryce will play, has already produced several NBA players, such as Deandre Ayton (who plays with Israeli player Deni Avdija in Portland) and Lauri Markkanen. Draft experts don't particularly value the 17-year-old Bryce, saying he needs to work very hard to improve in order to be drafted one day. He will need to work on his shooting and physicality if he wants to make it to the NBA, they say.
LeBron James, who celebrated his 40th birthday this week, is excited to see his younger son progress in his basketball career, after his older brother, Bronny James, already began his professional career in the NBA when he was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in the last draft, although Bronny's career in the best league in the world is struggling to take off.
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After playing with his father LeBron in the NBA's opening game to become the first father and son to collaborate in the NBA, Bronny James has moved on to play in the G-League, a development league. A month ago, he managed to score 30 points in that league, but it's still unclear whether he's at a level sufficient to be an NBA player or if he was selected just so he could play with his father. Bronny James also earns a hefty rookie salary of $8 million per season.
Will LeBron James be able to play with his younger son Bryce in the NBA? Time will tell.