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Arizona made the first recruiting splash of the New Year when Chatsworth (Calif.) Sierra Canyon’s Bryce James, the son of NBA legend LeBron James and younger brother of current Lakers rookie Bronny James, committed to the Wildcats on Wednesday.
Unlike his father, who was the top high school basketball player of his generation before becoming an NBA icon, and his brother, who was a McDonald’s All-American, Bryce hasn’t been a highly-touted or publicized recruit. Currently, James is ranked by 247Sports as a three-star prospect and the No. 47 shooting guard in the class of 2025. Why did Arizona welcome and want a commitment from James? What are the reasonable expectations for him during his time in Tucson?
Only Arizona head Tommy Lloyd and his staff can truly answer those questions. But from the outside looking in, James’ recruitment makes sense on several levels.
First and foremost, the NCAA’s new scholarship limits will go into place during the 2025-26 academic year. This means that teams will be allowed to carry 15 scholarship players instead of 13. So if you are a head coach with two extra spots to play with and LeBron James’ son is a viable option, why not roll the dice on him?
The rebuttal to adding Bryce to a program’s roster may be the pressure to play him early and often, similar to the way things played out for Bronny at USC. That’s not the situation at all. In fact, people need to throw away any preconceived notions they might have about Bryce based on Bronny because this is an apples to oranges situation. Bronny’s path and Bryce’s path are entirely different. Do not expect the manic media frenzy that followed Bronny to happen with Bryce.
Some think Bryce was recruited to create some type of hype for the Wildcats. Well, Arizona doesn’t exactly need any help getting attention. They’ve been a West Coast and national powerhouse for a while. Undoubtedly, though, the commitment of James gives them some pop. Regardless of whether he’s a star player, the eyeballs he brings in today’s ever-changing NIL landscape could be very beneficial.
As evident by his appearance on Kai Cenat’s record-breaking “Mafiathon 2” Twitch steam, Bryce generates interest that goes beyond what he can do on the floor. Having a kid who is extremely popular on social media and associated with influencer talent on your roster will certainly help raise NIL funds.
As we look a little deeper into things, we run into the Klutch Sports Group factor. LeBron James and Rich Paul’s company is one of the most powerful agencies in the world. Also, Klutch just so happens to represent the two of the Wildcats top remaining targets: Five-star power forward Koa Peat and five-star shooting guard Brayden Burries (both rank as top-10 2025 prospects by 247Sports). Landing Bryce doesn’t hand deliver these talented recruits to the Wildcats, but it surely doesn’t hurt their chances.
If you can find another player for Arizona who fills out the roster and brings more to the table off the court than James, then I’m sure Lloyd and his staff would be all ears. But, as it stands today, Bryce is a one-of-one prospect in that regard.
On the court, Bryce hasn’t played in a starring role for his high school or summer team. Last spring and summer in Nike’s EYBL, James was the fifth-leading scorer on his Strive For Greatness team, averaging 6.6 points and 2.4 rebounds over the course of 20 games. Although he didn’t shoot a great percentage from deep, he does have a good-looking shooting stroke. Also, he’s a bouncy athlete who is a threat as a lob finisher. He appears to be a good locker room presence and a likable teammate.
By all accounts, there aren’t any expectations for James to come in and immediately play huge minutes for the Wildcats. He’s a developmental player who might need a redshirt season. It’s understood that he’s there to develop, get the experience of playing college basketball and grow as a player and person. Not to mention, we’ve seen plenty of NBA player’s sons be late-bloomers. So if you’re a betting person, putting your money on someone who shares LeBron’s DNA to capitalize on their genetics isn’t a bad bet.
To put it plainly: Adding Bryce James is a low-risk, short-term proposition for Arizona with the potential for a big payday in the future.
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