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LeBron James rocks son Bryce's Arizona jersey during Lakers vs. Timberwolves

ns_headshot_2024-clearby: Nick Schultz5 hours agoNickSchultz_7
Los Angeles Lakers SF LeBron James and Arizona SG Bryce James
© Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

As Bryce James gets ready for his freshman season at Arizona, his dad is already repping him. LeBron James was rocking Bryce’s Wildcats jersey Friday night.

LeBron James wore the jersey as part of his outfit on the sideline during Friday’s Los Angeles Lakers vs. Minnesota Timberwolves game. The Lakers star is out for the first few weeks of the season as he works his way back from sciatica.

Bryce James arrived on campus this year as a freshman at Arizona as part of the Wildcats’ 2025 recruiting class. However, Tommy Lloyd said he could redshirt this season as the program focuses on James’ development.

James arrives in Tucson out of Chatsworth (Calif.) Sierra Canyon, where he became a three-star prospect. He was the No. 230 overall player from the 2025 cycle, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking.

Additionally, James is one of the most recognizable names in college hoops this year. Fueled by more than 3 million social media followers, he has a $1.3 million On3 NIL Valuation, which ranks No. 29 in the college basketball NIL rankings. It also puts him at No. 74 in the On3 NIL 100, the first of its kind and defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation.

“Bryce James continues to get more comfortable in his player archetype,” reads Rivals’ scouting report. “The son of LeBron James has a projectable frame with nice length. Where he shines is spreading the floor, knocking down shots from the corners. He will need to continue adding strength and tightening his handle, there is not much self-creation at this point.

“The jump shot is consistent, finding his balance points off movement or the catch. He has a quick and consistent release. Bryce’s game is different than his brother Bronny’s, who is a more point of attack guard. Bryce has found comfort playing in angles and off the ball.”

Tommy Lloyd: Bryce James could redshirt 2025-26

Bryce James may sit out the 2025-26 campaign, Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said this week at Big 12 Media Days. The staff wants to emphasize his development rather than throwing him into game action right away as a true freshman.

“Bryce and I’ve had a lot of conversations figuring out this year,” Lloyd said on the ESPN broadcast. “Redshirting is a possibility, and the reason I say that is because I believe in Bryce. If you didn’t believe in somebody, why would you spend extra resources on them or extra time? Bryce has been great at our place. His body is starting to change. I think the one thing people don’t realize about Bryce is he’s a year younger than his class, so he should be a senior in high school right now. So just kind of helping him with that transition has been fun.

“But I’ll say this, he’s a first class kid and growing into a young man. It’s been fun having him on a day-to-day basis. Fun watching him kind of come out of his shell and turn into his own man. And my job is to respect him as a person and help him with his own journey. That’s our plan at Arizona. We have no extras. Let’s just help this kid develop into a great young man. And I think that’s what his family wants and what he wants, and we’re going to help him with that.”