Is Bronny James as good as LeBron James at age 18?: A closer look at the prodigy out of Sierra Canyon High School

Bronny James has all the eyes on him as he nears his college eligibility, but how far is he in ESPN rankings? And will he make it to the NBA?

The name LeBron James holds a lot of stock in the NBA and basketball community. So if there were a LeBron James Jr. naturally all eyes will be on him.

Well, since 2004, the spotlight on LeBron James’ son, LeBron James Jr has intensified with every passing year. This year, he turns 18 and is very likely to join a college.

The biggest change since his birth is probably how he is known to the world as. It is no longer LeBron James Jr. but he is now more popularly known as Bronny James.

But who exactly is the enigma behind the name? Is he a real prospect for the NBA? And which college will he end up playing in? Let’s find out!

Who is LeBron “Bronny” James Jr?

Born October 6th, 2004, LeBron “Bronny” James Jr is the son of legendary basketball player LeBron James. From his early years, young Bronny has been under the watchful eyes of basketball fans. Being the son of LeBron meant that Bronny was endowed with elite genetics.

To a certain extent, Bronny is genetically gifted. Standing at a height of 6 foot 3, he is not as tall as the King. Bronny James also weighs 190 pounds, all muscle.

However, given that he is only a teenager, we reckon he will gain some size. This renders the question, how tall is Bronny James? Quite useless, as he is a growing young man. As for, the question, how old is Bronny James? Well, as of now he is 17 years old.

To answer more pertinent questions, the following subsections deal with his high-school stats, where he may end up in college, and when is he eligible for the NBA draft?

What are Bronny James’ Sierra Canyon stats?

The 17-year-old is currently enrolled at Sierra Canyon High School, Los Angeles.  To firstly clear up any doubts surrounding the question, what grade is Bronny James in 2021? He will be a senior in 2022.

His high school career has been sporadic at best. He has shown flashes of brilliance followed by stretches of dull games. A classic example is from last year when he had posted 21 points in Nike’s Peach Jam. During that game, his dad was in attendance along with several other NBA team scouts.

In the next game, he posted a meager 8 points, with just 1 made three out of 5 attempts, in contrast to the last game where he had 5 made threes. This drastic change in form is something that has been a hallmark of his high-school career. Incidentally, in his lackluster game, he went head-to-head with Amari Bailey, a five-star prospect from his class.

For his Nike Eybl Basketball team, Strive for Greatness he averaged the following:

Points per game	Rebounds per game	Assists per game
7.2	2.6	2.5

His stats in high school are very vague and as of last year, he was out for the whole season. Why was Bronny James out? He was injured from a meniscus tear and has since undergone an operation. He sat out the majority of the last year but is available for this year.

Where will Bronny James go to college?

A discussion that is perhaps the hottest topic of this year, is where exactly will Bronny go to college? There have been several suitors and LeBron James even came out and said that by the time Bronny was 10, a few colleges had offered scholarships. This is something he vehemently opposed.

So far, the University of Kentucky is the only college that has offered Bronny a scholarship. Apart from that Bronny also made an unofficial visit to Duke University in 2018.

Bronny is a four-star recruit across all major services. As a result, Ohio State, Michigan, UCLA, Kansas, Tennesse, and Texas have all shown interest.

How good is LeBron James jr?

We have already touched on the fact that Bronny’s form is quite sporadic. Despite that, he is a fantastic passer and has an innate ability to make the catch and shoot jump shots. He also possesses a good ability to finish at the rim and can drive through traffic.

Despite his 6’3 frame, he is good in transition and can handle taller and stronger opponents. He is also a versatile defender and plays with an added toughness. Draft Express’ Jonathon Givony was particularly impressed by his recent game at the Nike EYBL.

Who are Bronny James’ Rivals?

LeBron James Jr’s rivals are those from the class of 2023. Most notably in this same class, Bronny has been ranked as the no.40 prospect. DJ Wagner and Kwame Evans are ranked no.1 and no.2 respectively. Bronny’s other notable rival is Mikey Williams, who is ranked as no. 21.

What is Bronny James’ net worth?

Bronny at a young age has more fame than anyone can imagine. At the time of writing, the 17-year-old has amassed over 6.1 million followers on Instagram. He has also been featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated, and in the summer of 2021 joined the FaZe clan.

He also recently dropped his signature collection of innerwear via PSD Underwear. His estimated net worth is around $10 million. Although, he has never disclosed his worth.

When is LeBron James’ son eligible for the NBA Draft?

The burning question on everyone’s mind is, when will Bronny James get drafted? The answer is 2023. Bronny is eligible for the  2023 NBA draft. However, he is a four-star prospect and roughly only 6 % of the picks in the last five years’ drafts are one-and-done players.

There is still a high probability he will be drafted in 2023 as LeBron James has already spoken out about how he wants to play his final season with his son.

The LeBron Jameses sharing the court will perhaps become one of the NBA’s most iconic moments. It is something all of us as fans are eagerly awaiting. We can only hope that Bronny recovers and unlocks his true potential so that he may one day play in the NBA.