Bronny James To Declare For NBA Draft, Enter Transfer Portal

HOUSTON, TEXAS - MARCH 28: Bronny James #6 of the West team talks to Lebron James of the Los Angeles ... [+] Lakers after the 2023 McDonald's High School Boys All-American Game at Toyota Center on March 28, 2023 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images)

Bronny James has made his plans known.

LeBron’s eldest son will declare for the 2024 NBA Draft while also entering the NCAA transfer portal in order to maximize his options, according to multiple reports.

Per The Athletic, Bronny will work out for and visit NBA teams and then make a decision on his future based on feedback from the teams.

He is not projected to be drafted in 2024 per ESPN.com and is currently projected at No. 39 in their 2025 mock draft.

USC just changed coaches, with former Arkansas coach Eric Musselman replacing Andy Enfield, who coached Bronny this past season and then left to take the SMU job.

ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins said Bronny will be a better pro than college player.

“Just because he didn’t have a helluva college season and he is not showing signs of being a good college player, that doesn’t mean he’s not going to be a good pro,” Perkins said Friday on the Pat McAfee Show.

“College basketball and professional basketball are two different lanes.”

After suffering cardiac arrest last summer at USC, Bronny debuted in December and averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists for a Trojans team that finished 15-18. He did not make either of the All-Pac-12 teams released this week.

Some agents have privately said that the best outcome would be for him to go undrafted this year and then sign a Two-Way Contract with the Lakers, enabling him to spend some time developing in the NBA G League while also sharing the court with his famous father in a number of games.

LeBron turns 40 in December and has said that he hopes to share an NBA court with his son. He also said recently he doesn’t plan to play too much longer.

“I don’t have much time left,” he said.

NBA teams may have up to three players under NBA Two-Way Contracts who may be active for up to 50 games with their NBA team. Players signed to Two-Way Contracts are paid one salary for their time in both leagues.

Elaborating on the challenges of Bronny playing college basketball, Perkins said, ‘You got a young man that’s going against seniors, fifth-year seniors, sixth-year seniors, seasoned guys...I don’t really know how the coach at USC [Andy Enfield] feels about Bronny but at times I was watching the games and I’m like, ‘You’re kind of holding him back, you ain’t really letting him loose.’

“Bronny James as a professional is going to be a completely different ballplayer. How the game is played in the NBA, with the space, the way that he’s able to catch and shoot and knock down shots, the way that he’s able to run in transition, the way that he’s able to finish above the rim, the way that he’s able to buckle down defensively and slide those puppies, and he has a high IQ.

“The game is going to be better for him in the NBA. Some guys are just not built for college basketball.”

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