LeBron James denies reports that son Bronny may transfer from USC

LeBron James has denied reports suggesting his Bronny will transfer from USC after just one season, despite admitting that the 19-year-old freshman has some “tough decisions” to make this spring.

Speaking to reporters after the Los Angeles Lakers’ 128-111 victory over the Toronto Raptors, James offered nothing but support for his eldest son after longtime college basketball writer Dick Weiss hinted at a possible change of scenery. for Bronny in a now-deleted social media post.

“I don’t know where (the reports) came from, but at the end of the day, Bronny is his own man and he has a difficult decision to make… As his family, we will support everything he does,” James said. ESPN’s Dave McMenamin after his 23-point, nine-assist performance on Tuesday.

That same night, Weiss shared on X: ‘USC freshman guard Bronny James is entering the transfer portal. good for him. He needs to get away from the Hollywood hype. Good luck to LeBron’s son.

He later retracted his comments: “I can’t confirm the Bronny James story, guys.” I still think it’s an idea whose time has come. It makes sense for it to happen. I love the kid, I think he could be a star somewhere else.”

LeBron said he didn’t know where the reports about his son came from after the Lakers’ win in Toronto

Weiss, a member of the National Sportswriters Hall of Fame who previously covered college basketball for the New York Daily News for more than two decades, also reposted a complaint that Duke, Ohio State, UCLA, Xavier and Rutgers are the favorites to recruit the son of the most popular basketball player on the planet.

Duquesne, the team James rooted for in this year’s March Madness tournament, is also in the running to land Bronny. In 2022, the Dukes attempted to recruit James’ youngest son, Bryce, at just 15 years old by giving him a Division I college scholarship.

Bronny’s potential departure from USC would follow former Trojans head coach Andy Enfield’s departure for SMU after the latter was hired by the Mustangs on Monday. Enfield was the Trojans’ head coach for the past 11 years, but last season failed to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019.

Andy Enfield left USC for SMU earlier this week after 11 years as the program’s head coach.

In his only season playing for Southern California thus far, Bronny has appeared in 25 games for six states, averaging 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in his 19.4 minutes per game.

Bronny missed the first eight games of his true freshman season after suffering sudden cardiac arrest in early July during the Trojans’ offseason workouts.

Playing on a minutes restriction to begin his college career, he scored four points, along with two rebounds, two assists, two steals and a chase block reminiscent of his father’s in his first game against Long Beach State on December 10. He played 16 minutes in that game in which the Trojans were stunned, 84-79.

Bronny would then make his first career start against Colorado on January 13. He then started three straight Pac-12 games before coming off the bench in USC’s next two matchups. He was reinstated to USC’s starting lineup for three more games before returning from the bench for the remainder of the season.