ESPN: Bronny James will keep name in 2024 NBA Draft, forgo remaining college eligibility

Bronny James will keep his name in the NBA Draft, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, foregoing the rest of his college eligibility.

“NEWS: Bronny James will keep his name in the 2024 NBA draft at the NCAA withdrawal deadline, his agent Rich Paul told ESPN,” Givony wrote on Twitter. “James is in the midst of a strong pre-draft process that has elevated his standing among NBA teams.”

After a single season at USC, James elected to dip his toes in the NBA Draft waters. Based on Givony’s report, all sides were satisfied enough to move forward in the process.

James’ agent Rich Paul, who represents his father LeBron, gave a statement to ESPN.

“Bronny’s [draft] range is wide,” Paul told ESPN. “He’s a really good prospect who has a lot of room for growth. It only takes one team. I don’t care where that team is — it can be No. 1 or 58 — [but] I do care about the plan, the development. The team’s strategy, the opportunity and the financial commitment. That’s why I’m not doing a two-way deal. Every team understands that.”

According to Givony, Bronny James’ testing stood out during the combine and workouts.

“James, 19, tested as one of the fastest and most explosive athletes at the NBA draft combine in Chicago earlier this month, ranking second among 71 participants in two 3-point shooting drills,” he wrote. “James also had 13 points in a combine team scrimmage. He participated in a heavily attended pro day at the Lakers’ practice facility last week, where he again demonstrated his highlight-reel explosiveness and improving perimeter shooting ability.”

James was scheduled to workout for 10 NBA teams but reportedly declined eight of them, keeping just the Lakers and Phoenix Suns on his schedule.

James was initially placed on a minutes restriction before ramping things up in his freshman season with USC after suffering cardiac arrest last summer. But his production did not necessarily reflect that of a potential pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, averaging just 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in his 19.4 minutes per game.

He primarily came off of the bench for the Trojans with six starts on the year and three games scoring in double-figures.

He was a highly touted high school recruit out of Sierra Canyon in California where he was a four-star prospect rated as the No. 25 overall recruit and the No. 6 ranked point guard in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.