Bronny James recruiting updates: Where will Sierra Canyon star play after high school?
Where will Bronny James play basketball after he finishes high school?
The question has followed the nation's most famous high school athlete and oldest son of LeBron James his entire senior high school season at Sierra Canyon.
Answers, clues and leads are sparse. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound point guard has lived a life under a media spotlight, but interest in his college decision has picked up as he's shined on the high school stage and established himself as a high-major college prospect, and a newly projected NBA Draft Lottery pick in 2024.
James is averaging 14 points, a team-high 5.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.8 steals per game for Sierra Canyon, one of the top high school teams in the country.
He is uncommitted, and his recruitment is complicated by the fact that the 18-year-old has not given an interview on the subject. Sierra Canyon has never made him available to media.
Here are the latest updates on where his recruitment stands:
Bronny to Oregon? 'There's a chance'
Could Bronny James end up heading to Oregon?
It's a possibility, according to LeBron James. The Los Angeles Lakers star told The Oregonian/OregonLive on Jan. 23 the Ducks have not officially offered his son a scholarship, but said there is "mutual interest" between him.
"He's going to make his own decision," James told sports columnist Bill Oram. "But there's a chance."
Oregon is roughly two hours by car from Nike's World Headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, where Bronny James has an NIL deal and LeBron James has a new building named after him and a lifetime contract with the sports apparel giant.
He also has connections to members of the Ducks' 2023 recruiting class, namely Mookie Cook, an AZ Compass Prep five-star forward committed to Oregon.
Cook, a Portland native, and Bronny James started playing on the same AAU team in middle school and the two are friendly. Cook won MVP honors at a camp hosted by LeBron James when he was in middle school, and is playing the elder James as an actor in a forthcoming movie called Shooting Stars.
"Me and Bronny, we have a good relationship," Cook said in an interview in Purpose Over Dreams, a behind-the-scenes documentary on AZ Compass Prep's season. "We've been playing together since seventh, eighth grade. Been trying to get him to Oregon, that would be a dope thing."
Down to three?
During the lead-up to James' senior high school season, details surrounding his recruitment have trickled out in the form of sporadic breadcrumbs over the past year.
A tight-lipped recruiting journey isn't completely out of the ordinary. But Bronny James, the oldest son of LeBron James and the most famous high school athlete in the country who Sierra Canyon has made off-limits for interviews, is no ordinary prospect.
The latest breadcrumb came Jan. 17 when a story by Luca Evans of the LA Times on the Sierra Canyon guard reported through an anonymous source that James will decide after the high school season between Ohio State, Oregon and USC — and the Buckeyes are his father's pick.
Here is the full excerpt:
According to a person with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly, James will make a decision on his college commitment after the season, and his top three schools are Ohio State — his father’s favorite — USC and Oregon. LeBron James, 38, recently doubled down on previous remarks that he wants to finish his NBA career playing with his son.
Three days later, On3's Joe Tipton reported James is "considering those three programs, his recruitment is still ongoing."
ESPN reported in August that five schools were recruiting James: Michigan, Ohio State, UCLA and USC. Oregon, his father told The Oregonian Sunday, has yet to extend a formal offer. Memphis and Kentucky reportedly have.
LeBron James has repeatedly said he wants to finish his NBA career playing alongside Bronny, who is not technically eligible for the NBA Draft until 2024, after he turns 19 (though draft rules could soon change).
He's widely considered a four-star recruit and poses a chance to be selected for the McDonald's All-American Game in March. On3 grades the 6-3, 190-pound senior as the No. 6 combo guard and No. 29 overall recruit in the country, ESPN says he's the No. 88 prospect in 2023 and 247 Sports lists him at No. 34.
Sierra Canyon's season ended Tuesday night in the CIF Division I Regional championship game in a loss to Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks.
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Lead photo by Naji Saker
