LeBron James gets standing ovation from Cleveland Cavaliers crowd ahead of impending free agency
LeBron James was court side for the Cleveland Cavaliers-Boston Celtics playoff game Monday night and received a standing ovation.
James, who’s expected to opt out into free agency this summer, already had to stints with his original franchise. He just finished up his latest season with the Los Angeles Lakers, who lost to the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
But while at Game 4 Monday night, watching an exciting young Cavaliers team, the Cleveland faithful showed their respect.
It remains to be seen if James will return to Los Angeles to finish out his career. But the Lakers do reportedly have interest in drafting his son Bronny in this year’s draft.
Bronny James played one year at USC and entered the transfer portal, plus the draft. He opted to fully go professional and enter the draft process.
After James was cleared to play in the league following a scary heart issue ahead of his 2023-24 season in college, he is now likely to forgo his remaining collegiate eligibility and stay in the draft.
As a draft prospect, there’s simply not a whole lot of reason to believe in Bronny James coming into the league to provide any value as a rookie. Of course, the son of LeBron James is a different case in terms of his draft stock, since LeBron has made clear he would love to play with his son some day, making him an enticing selection for any franchise.
Bronny James appeared in 25 games this year, including six starts, after missing the start of the season as he recovered from cardiac arrest over the offseason. He averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 steals during his time at USC. James arrived on campus as a highly touted recruit.
A four-star prospect, he was the No. 25 overall prospect from the 2023 class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. On3 was the only service to rank James as a five-star.
Could a team like Cleveland draft Bronny to entice LeBron to come back to Cleveland for his swan song? It’s certainly possible. That could go for any NBA team looking to make it work, as the Lakers reportedly might do.
In his draft profile of James for The Ringer, NBA analyst Kevin O’Connor noted that Bronny is a “high-IQ decision maker” and a “good athlete with a strong frame and length.” However, he also says James “hasn’t proven to have touch” as a shooter and “lacks a great handle” as a creator. He ranked him 69th overall on his big board.