Bronny James, the son of NBA superstar LeBron James, announced on Instagram that he will enter the 2024 NBA draft. The 19-year-old will also use the transfer portal to maintain his college eligibility.
Several media outlets hinted at the possibility of a transfer over the last week, following the announcement that James’ coach at USC, Andy Enfield, was leaving the Trojans to become the head coach at SMU. USC, which will join the Big Ten next season, has since hired Arkansas coach Eric Musselman to replace Enfield. A USC spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
LeBron told reporters after a win over the Raptors on Tuesday that he didn’t know the source of the reports, but added, “[Bronny has] some tough decisions to make, and when he’s ready to make those decisions, he’ll let us all know.”During his first college season, James played in 25 games for the Trojans and scored double-digit points three times. He averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game. It was unclear whether he would play for the Trojans at all after suffering a cardiac arrest during an offseason workout in July and being hospitalized.
Despite his unimpressive statistics, the rising sophomore remains one of the most well-known college basketball players due to his NIL value and social media presence. Bronny’s net worth is estimated by On3 to be just under $5 million, the highest in men’s college basketball. According to On3, he has NIL deals with Nike, Beats by Dre, and Google. He currently has 7.5 million Instagram followers.The men’s basketball transfer portal opened on March 18 and will close on May 1. During this time, athletes can announce their intention to leave one school and join another. Players may also return to their current institutions and remove their names from the portal. Coaches can start contacting players once their names are officially in the portal.
If James wishes to withdraw from the NBA draft while maintaining his college eligibility, he must do so by sending an email to the league by May 29. That is the NCAA Early Entry withdrawal deadline.