Bronny James arrives on USC's campus ahead of freshman season
Andy Enfield had quite the year on the recruiting trail at USC. Not only did he bring in the highest-rated recruit in the country in Isaiah Collier, but he also landed the highest-profile prospect in Bronny James.
In fact, James is so recognizable the USC social media team didn’t even need to use his last name in a tweet Wednesday. It was a big day, and it only required three words to show the magnitude of the moment.
“Bronny has arrived.”
James is officially on campus as his freshman year quickly approaches. The son of NBA great LeBron James, he’s one of the most notable names in basketball even before playing a collegiate game.
James announced his commitment to USC May 6 after a unique recruiting process. One of the top players in the country, not much was known about his recruitment early on. But things heated up and he’s playing in the same city as his dad, who’s reportedly expected to return to the Los Angeles Lakers next season after hinting at retirement following this year’s early playoff exit.
In fact, LeBron might stay in the league long enough to share the court with his oldest son. After all, Bronny will be draft-eligible next year.
“I was serious, and I’m still serious about it,” LeBron said following the Lakers’ 127-97 win over the Golden State Warriors. “Obviously I’ve gotta continue to keep my body and my mind fresh. I think my mind, most importantly. If my mind goes, then my body will just be like, ‘OK, what we doing?’”
Bronny James was a four-star prospect on the recruiting trail and the No. 24-ranked player in the nation from the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, an equally weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. On3 was the only company to rate James as a five-star recruit.
James has developed quite the social media following, totaling a combined 12.9 million followers on Instagram and TikTok. That’s a big reason why he has an On3 NIL Valuation of $6.8M, which puts him at No. 1 in the On3 NIL 100 — the first of its kind and defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college student-athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation.
The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets the standard market NIL value for high school and college athletes. The On3 NIL Valuation calculates the optimized NIL opportunity for athletes relative to the overall NIL market and projects out to as long as 12 months into the future.