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LeBron James reacts to Bronny's commitment to USC following NBA playoff game

PeterWarrenPhoto2by:Peter Warren05/07/23

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(Getty Images/Christian Petersen)

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James said Saturday was one of the best days of his life after his son, five-star guard Bronny James, committed to USC. The decision closed out a long process for the younger James, who had his recruitment mostly shrouded in mystery.

“First of all congratulations to my son on his next journey and picking a great university in USC,” James said after the Lakers win Saturday. “I’m proud of him. This is an incredible thing. Unless it was one of my great-grandmothers or great-grandfathers or someone way before my time, to my knowledge this is the first one out of the James Gang to go to college.”

Bronny James is one of the top players in the 2023 recruiting cycle, emerging as an On3 five-star recruit over the past year. The 2023 On3 Industry Ranking has James as the No. 23 overall prospect and No. 4 combo guard. But On3 ranks James as the No. 9 prospect and No. 2 combo guard in the country.

James has an On3 NIL Valuation of $5.9 million, which is the No. 1 valuation in the On3 NIL 100. The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets high school and college athletes’ projected annual value (PAV). The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.

“Obviously, his dad didn’t go to school,” James said. “His mom didn’t go to college. My mom maybe stepped on campus for a little bit, maybe a community college or something, but she had (me) running around so she couldn’t spend much time in the classroom. 19 years old, she couldn’t do that. I was three. It’s very, very, very, very exciting, very humbling and a great moment for our family.”

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James joins a standout USC recruiting class that includes Five-Star Plus+ point guard and On3 Industry Ranking No. 1 recruit Isaiah Collier and four-star power forward Arrinten Page.

And with both LeBron James and Bronny James playing in Los Angeles next year, it will be a great time to a SoCal hoops fan.

“It’s super cool,” James said. “He’s a great kid. USC’s getting a great kid. Obviously he’s there to play basketball but they’re going to be super surprised how great of a kid he is even though they’ve been recruiting him for quite a while.”