LeBron James left a strong mark on the Miami Heat during his four years with the team, and perhaps his son Bronny will be able to do the same in the future.
The Heat are reportedly already going to the younger James’ college games and taking notes on him, according to NBA insider Brian Windhorst.
The younger James is in his first season at the University of Southern California (USC) and made his Trojans debut last month after recovering from a cardiac arrest suffered during an offseason workout.
Through six games with USC, the younger James is recording 7.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game while knocking down 50.0 percent of his shots from the field and 31.6 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc.
The 19-year-old has yet to start a game and receiving only 16.8 minutes of playing time per contest.
He had arguably his best game of the season against Oregon State University recently, totaling 15 points on 6-for-11 shooting from the field and 2-for-6 shooting from beyond the arc.
It seems as though the health scare the younger James suffered over the summer has knocked him down some draft boards. Perhaps he’ll end up returning to USC for at least another season to improve his draft stock. However, there’s still plenty of time left this season for him to cement himself as a sure-fire first-round pick.
As for the elder James, he’s in his 21st NBA season and showing that he remains among the league’s best players. While he’s had a solid season from an individual standpoint, his Lakers have been struggling as of late and sit in 10th place in the Western Conference.
L.A. is on a three-game losing streak, and reports of a rift between head coach Darvin Ham and the team’s locker room recently surfaced.
However, a high-ranking Lakers source pushed back against the idea that Ham’s job is in immediate jeopardy. It’ll be interesting to see if Ham and elder James can work together to help the Lakers turn things around.
Something to keep in mind is that the elder James has been very open about his desire to play with his eldest son. The league’s all-time leading scorer holds a player option for next season, so he could become a free agent in the 2024 offseason.
That would allow him to sign with the team that were to acquire his son, should he enter the 2024 NBA Draft.
One former NBA executive recently said that he doesn’t think teams — especially lottery ones — will target the younger James just to lure the elder James.
Only time will tell if the Heat become the younger James’ first NBA team and are able to reunite with the elder James sometime in the near future.