The basketball world got some rather interesting news on New Year’s Day.
Bryce James — the youngest son of famed basketball icon LeBron James — announced that he will continue his basketball career at the University of Arizona.
James, a 2025 prospect, hails from Sierra Canyon High School in suburban Los Angeles. He’s currently listed as the No. 257 player nationally by the 247Sports composite rankings for his class. James reportedly garnered offers from Arizona, Ohio State, and Duquesne.
Being LeBron’s son, this news will raise more than a few eyebrows. The younger James is still a developing prospect. There’s ample time for him to eventually become an NBA player. Most scouting reports insist that Bryce is a high basketball I.Q. player akin to his father and brother.
Unlike brother Bronny, Bryce has more of a traditional guard build. He’s been listed anywhere from 6’4″ to 6’6″ by most publications. In pictures, he’s a few inches taller than his brother.
At the same time, there’s not much of a track record to indicate that Bryce will indeed become an NBA player. As a senior, he’s still not a starter on his high school team. Another report mentioned that Bryce’s field-goal percentage for his AAU team sat at 30 percent. His three-point percentage was listed at 28 percent, and his free-throw percentage was reportedly 54 percent.
On the surface, he doesn’t look like an Arizona-level prospect. Head coach Tommy Lloyd is known for his player development, and in this case, that was surely pitched as a selling point for Bryce to sign in Tucson. At the same time, the NIL factor could loom large here.
Arizona’s recruiting hasn’t been overly great. There have been concerns about its NIL funding in recent classes. Bryce’s father is connected to Klutch Sports, a massive agency representing a slew of high-level prep prospects. With Bryce’s popularity among some of these prospects, coupled with LeBron’s profile, Arizona is clearly banking on taking advantage of these facts to increase the talent on its roster.
It’ll be very fascinating to track the progress of Bryce as a hooper, not to mention the possible impact it could have on Arizona.
