Bronny James, son of Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, was only a role player as a freshman guard at USC. Even so, with the somewhat unexpected departure of coach Andy Enfield to SMU, all eyes are on what lies ahead for James.
While LeBron has spoken openly about his desire to play with his son at the NBA level, Bronny’s freshman year wasn’t typical of a one-and-done talent. In 25 games (six starts), he averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per contest. Naturally, with Enfield’s move to the Mustangs, transfer rumors have popped up.
Following the Lakers’ 128–111 drubbing of the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday, LeBron was asked about his son’s future. He doesn’t know the genesis of the transfer rumors, but said that the family will support Bronny in whatever he chooses to do.
“I don’t know where it came from, but at the end of the day Bronny’s his own man and he has some tough decisions to make,” he said, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “And when he’s ready to make those decisions he’ll let us all know. But as his family, we’re going to support whatever he does.”
The rumors were sent into overdrive on Tuesday after a tweet by longtime basketball writer Dick Weiss.
“USC freshman guard Bronny James is entering the transfer portal. good for him. needs to get away from the Hollywood hype. best of luck to LeBron’s kid,” he said in a now-deleted tweet. He followed it up later on Tuesday, saying he cannot confirm the news, but that he believes it is a realistic idea.
Clearly this was not the breaking news report that some ran with on Tuesday after the initial tweet, but LeBron didn’t exactly shoot down the idea that his son could be on the move, either.
