LeBron James Says Bronny Now ‘Wants To Go The College Route’

While Bronny James has the option of going to college or taking another path after his senior season of high school this year, it now appears more and more certain he will head to college.

Bronny now “wants to go the college route,” LeBron James told Chris Ballard of Sports Illustrated in the magazine’s October cover story.

Bronny and his family recently took a visit to Ohio State — the school LeBron has said he likely would have attended had he gone to college — with the school’s football fans chanting, “We want Bronny” during the Notre Dame game. Oregon, Memphis and USC are among the other schools recruiting Bronny, a 6-foot-3 four-star point guard at Sierra Canyon in Los Angeles. LeBron recently shut down rumors that Oregon was the favorite to land his son.

Savannah James, the mother of 17-year-old Bronny and 15-year-old Bryce James, also told the magazine college seems like the best route for her older son.

Bronny “wants to have a collegiate career,” she said. “I think it would be really cool for him to start with collegiate basketball, just to start his legacy there.”

There are multiple factors at stake for any school that considers taking Bronny, including handling security when his father and mother attend games, playing time for Bronny, any NIL opportunities that arise from Bronny being on the team (SI estimated Bronny could earn $6 million in NIL money) and just overall fit within the team culture.

“There’s a lot that comes along with coaching the son of a celebrity,” one coach at a school recruiting Bronny said. “In this case, it could be the biggest celebrity on the planet. Does he play, does he not play? How do you coach him? Are you strict with him, are you lenient with him? All the other parents sit in one section, LeBron sits in another section. There is a lot. It becomes a circus.

“I think those are all legitimate concerns.”

Wherever he goes for college, Bronny is likely to only be there for a year — meaning his college coach will only have to deal with those issues for a year, but also has to decide whether it’s worth it for that long.

LeBron, who turns 38 Dec. 30, last month agreed to a 2-year, $97.1 million extension with the Lakers through the 2024-25 season, paving the way for him to team up with his son when Bronny becomes NBA-eligible in 2024. (Any proposed change to the NBA one-and-done rule likely wouldn’t kick in until at least 2024.)

James said in February he plans to play his final season with Bronny, but he told SI he’s not ruling out playing beyond 2024-25, even teasing that he could stick around to play with Bryce, who wouldn’t be NBA eligible until 2026 under current rules.

“I feel like I could play for quite a while,” LeBron told the magazine. “So it’s all up to my body, but more importantly, my mind. If my mind can stay sharp and fresh and motivated, then the sky’s not even a limit for me. I can go beyond that. But we shall see.”

As for Bronny, Savannah said she just wants her son to be happy — no matter what he ends up doing.

“Of course Dad is wanting [Bronny] to play on the same court eventually, maybe on the same team,” she said. “That would be the icing on the cake for his career, and probably [as] a father.

“But for me, I just want [Bronny] to be happy. If you are happy playing in gaming competitions in Long Beach, then that’s what I want you to do. If you’re happy being a franchise player for an NBA team, that’s what I want you to do. . . . A lot of people are doing things and moving through life and aren’t necessarily happy.”