Lincoln Riley welcomes Bronny James to USC

Bronny James has been one of the most high-profile basketball recruits in the sports history. The son of NBA star LeBron James made it official on Saturday evening, announcing his commitment via a social media graphic from On3’s Joe Tipton. USC head football coach Lincoln Riley wasted little time in welcoming Bronny James to the Trojans’ athletics family on Saturday evening. He posted a brief note on Twitter saying, “Welcome home Bronny.”

Check out his tweet below.

Welcome home Bronny✌️ https://t.co/l7XYcInixx

— Lincoln Riley (@LincolnRiley) May 7, 2023

James is the No. 23 overall prospect and No. 3 combo guard in the 2023 On3 Industry Ranking. He is also the No. 5 player in California. 

On3 rates James higher than other recruiting services, according to the Industry Comparison. Per On3, James is ranked as a five-star recruit and the No. 9 overall prospect, No. 2 combo guard and No. 1 player in California. 

Along with USC, James received reported offers from Ohio State and Memphis, and garnered interest from Oregon.

Bronny James’ NIL value is worth millions

James has an On3 NIL Valuation of $7.4M, making him the most valuable high school athlete in the name, image, and likeness era. To no surprise, Bronny is the No. 1 player in On3’s NIL 100, which ranks high school and college football and men’s basketball players. The On3 NIL 100 is the first of its kind and the defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes based on projected market valuation.

Bronny James’ massive $7.4 million On3 NIL Valuation is fueled largely by his huge followings on Instagram (7.1 million followers) and TikTok (5.7 million followers).

Scouting Report

“Bronny James is a sturdy guard, with a strong frame, long arms, and broad shoulders. The 6-2/6-3 guard is a noted defender at the point of attack. He moves his feet well laterally and plays with a chip on his shoulder. Offensively he does not really show blow-by burst in the half-court, but he attacks closeouts well, and he is strong in the paint. James is good in transition, has a little bit of wiggle there, and can get on the rim. He is explosive in straight lines. James needs to tighten his handle in space. One of his biggest areas of improvement is from three, where he has cleaned up his mechanics – especially the release – and gathered his balance. James made 13 threes in six Peach Jam games at a 35 percent clip. He will need to finish better at the rim, especially in traffic. When playing as the primary initiator, he takes care of the ball with a better than 2.5:1 assists to turnover ratio at Peach Jam.” – On3’s Jamie Shaw

On3’s Joe Tipton also contributed to this article.