Bronny James: What the On3 five-star guard brings to USC

On Saturday, Bronny James, son of NBA all-time leading scorer LeBron James, announced his commitment to USC. This public commitment ends one of the most closed-circle recruitments in recent memory.

James is the No. 9 player in the 2024 On3 150. The five-star guard scored 15 points in the McDonald’s All-American game and 11 points in the Nike Hoop Summit game. James joins five-star point guard Isaiah Collier and four-star power forward Arrinten Page in Southern California’s 2024 recruiting class.

How we got here

Bronny James going to college really picked up steam in late July 2022 during Nike’s Peach Jam. While it was previously thought James could be going the pro route out of high school, word began circulating that James would be going to college.

Over the next few months, Ohio State, USC, and Oregon were all consistently mentioned with the recruitment of James. The On3 five-star guard took an unofficial visit to Ohio State for a football game. Throughout the process, offers were reported from Ohio State, USC, and Memphis.

While Oregon carried early and consistent momentum, the Ducks never offered. Even with that knowledge, there was enough momentum around Oregon for On3 to put an early Recruiting Prediction Machine pick in for the Ducks.

Around the week of the Nike Hoop Summit in early April, word started circulating that James was close to making a public decision. Even with the building momentum, there were no specifics available. However, the intel surrounding the information was enough, and the fact Oregon still had not offered, to change the Recruiting Prediction Machine pick to USC.

Four-star guard Silas Demary Jr. de-committed from USC two weeks ago. James visited the campus last week, and sources say that staying close to home is very appealing to the family.

And today, the wait is over.

What James brings to USC

While he is Lebron James Jr. by name, Bronny James is not his dad, and that is fine. James is still a five-star guard and firmly on the NBA radar.

“Bronny won’t get drafted because he’s LeBron’s kid. He’ll get drafted because he’s an NBA player,” one NBA scout told On3 recently.

James carries a strong and compact frame. Standing 6-foot-3, he is quick enough to guard on the ball and strong enough to guard off the ball. At this point, James’ most projectable characteristic is his defensive ability. James can turn a ball handler multiple times while bringing the ball up the floor. He works hard on that end of the floor, and he has natural instincts.

On the offensive end of the floor, James is currently at his best playing in a secondary, off-the-ball role. He is a smooth three-point shooter, especially off the catch. The release on the jump shot is clean, and when his feet are set, his base and balance points are repeatable. With the ball, he does not force anything into bad situations, and he plays within himself.

How James fits on the roster

With leading scorer Boogie Ellis returning and No. 1 ranked Isaiah Collier coming in, The Trojans starting backcourt looks set. However, with Tre White, Reese Dixon-Waters, and Malik Thomas each transferring out of the program, there is an opportunity for James to slide into that first guard off the bench role. A role that got around 25 minutes a night last season.