After defending his son Bronny against critics who excluded the USC star from mock drafts, LeBron James applauds his son

LeBron James is currently cheering for his kid Bronny James at games, much as his father did for him growing up.

Bronny James #6 of the USC Trojans greets his dad, LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers, before the game against the Stanford Cardinal at Galen Center on January 06, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.

The Lakers star cheered on Bronny at a USC basketball game on Thursday night, using his day off.

LeBron, 39, watched the Trojans play Arizona State from courtside with his wife, Savannah, wearing a USC Basketball hoodie. At the Galen Center in Los Angeles, Bronny and USC defeated the Sun Devils 81-73, and he celebrated the victory with his parents present.

 USC Trojans guard Bronny James (6) drives to the basket during the college basketball game between the Arizona State Sun Devils and the USC Trojans on March 7, 2024 at Galen Center in Los Angeles, CA.

On Thursday, the 19-year-old college freshman for the Trojans played 16 minutes and finished with two assists, one rebound, and one steal.

After the victory on Thursday, USC’s season record stands at 13 wins, 17 defeats. The Trojans will play the Arizona Wildcats at USC on Saturday.

This year’s NCAA basketball season got off to a late start for Bronny, who missed the first eight games of USC’s schedule while recuperating from a heart collapse that occurred in July 2023. Afterwards, Bronny’s condition was determined to be “an anatomically and functionally significant congenital heart defect” by medical professionals, and he had surgery to fix it.In 19 games this season since making his USC debut, Bronny has averaged 5.5 points on 37.1% shooting, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.5 assists. Additionally, USA Today reports that he plays 20.2 minutes per game on average.

 

 

LeBron’s visit to support the Trojans comes only a month after he stood up for his son Bronny when the latter was excluded from ESPN’s 2024 NBA mock draft. It’s now anticipated that Bronny will be chosen in 2025.

The Los Angeles Lakers superstar, who on Saturday became the first player in NBA history to score 40,000 points, vented his annoyance at Bronny’s exclusion from the mock draft on X, the platform that was formerly known as Twitter.

“Will you people please just let the kid enjoy college basketball and be a kid?” According to USA Today, the Lakers star wrote in the since-deleted X post. “Whatever he chooses to do, in the end, the effort and outcomes will speak for itself. You guys don’t know that he just works, regardless of what a mock draft says! Earned Not Assigned!

The four-time NBA champion went on, “And to all the other kids out there striving to be great, just keep your head down, blinders on, and keep grinding.” These mock drafts are completely irrelevant! I swear to you! Work is all that matters! Come on, people—let’s talk real basketball!At the time, Jonathon Givony, an NBA Draft analyst for ESPN, defended Bronny by pointing out his months-long recuperation.

Givony told Malika Andrews on NBA Today, “We have to remember that this kid missed four months with a heart issue, starting in July, that really seemed to derail his season.”

Givony called him “one of the best defenders in the freshman class.” “If Bronny James returns for his sophomore campaign, he will be a very different player. Someone who still has the potential to be a lottery choice will be shown to us.

With his wife, Savannah James, LeBron also has a 16-year-old son named Bryce Maximus and a 9-year-old daughter named Zhuri Nova.