Will Bryce James join brother Bronny at USC? Exploring a potential reunion of Lebron's sons on the court

Sierra Canyon v Cleveland
Bryce James in the Sierra Canyon vs. Cleveland game

Being Bryce James, LeBron James' son, may not be easy. LeBron is the NBA's scoring king, a modern-day legend and one of the greatest players ever. And yet Maximus Bryce James is not even the eldest son. He has to fight from under the shadow of older brother Bronny as well, and Bronny already has a cult following at just 18.

But the future seems bright for Bryce, who had an amazing growth spurt to 6-foot-6, now dwarfing his 6-3 older brother but still shorter than their famous 6-9 father.

Not long after Bronny committed to the University of Southern California last month, Bryce opted out of Sierra Canyon School after his big brother's decision. Bryce played with Bronny last season at Sierra Canyon, but will now play for Campbell Hall as a junior.

Whether Bryce will follow Bronny, ESPN's No. 20 prospect in the 2023 class, to USC remains to be seen. Bronny is widely expected to declare for the 2024 draft. ESPN ranked him as the No. 9 pick in a mock draft in February. Bryce won't graduate high school until 2025 and won't be eligible for the NBA draft until 2026.

Is Bryce more talented than Bronny?

There's nothing NBA fans love more than guessing the future potential of talented players. But the question doesn't seem too far-fetched this time with observers rating Bryce as the more talented of James' offspring. He definitely is taller, and he's still only 15.

While Bronny is already a consensus five-star recruit and a McDonald's All-American, Bryce has barely had a kick at the elite level. It is a hard task to judge both players' potential, but it will definitely be interesting to see if they inherit any of their father's stratospheric basketball talent.

LeBron James was already hailed as "The Chosen One" on the cover of Sports Illustrated while still in high school and bypassed college altogether as the No. 1 pick in the 2003 draft.

Could all the James's play together in the NBA?

The internet loves a good farewell story and a good coming together story is even better. LeBron James has said time and time again that his last act in the NBA will be to play with his son Bronny once he's been drafted, and this has put teams on notice of King James' wishes. That desire will make for an interesting 2024 draft if Bronny does as expected and enters the draft pool.

LeBron brings with him a ton of hype, fanfare and winning pedigree, so it is conceivable that if things go as expected, teams will be falling over each other to try to draft Bronny to attract his father. But where does that leave Bryce?

Because he's still just a junior, the first draft he will be eligible for is in 2026. Will LeBron still be playing by then at 41? We have seen the things that year 20 LeBron can still do, so it isn't far-fetched to think that he could stick around to ease both of his sons into the NBA, leveraging his elite status to get them cushy teams before he departs.

LeBron James, who is 38, is already one of only 10 men who have played at least 20 NBA seasons.

Of those, Vince Carter played the most seasons, 22, playing his last game at 43 years and 45 days. Only two of those 10 also skipped college ball: Kevin Garnett (39 years, eight months and four days when he played his last game) and Kobe Bryant (37 years, seven months and 21 days). Garnett played 21 seasons, while Bryant played 20.

The oldest of those 10 is Kevin Willis (21 seasons), who played his last game at the age of 44 and 224 days. He played three years at Michigan State and missed one season with injury and another after retiring for the first time.

All three James's on the same court, at the same time. Now that would be a sight for sore eyes.

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