How LeBron James responded to college scouts trying to recruit his 10-year-old son
LeBron James
© Mark J. Rebilas - USA TODAY Sports
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James has said numerous times that his ultimate goal is to play in the NBA alongside his son Bronny. He has not revealed when this idea took root in his mind. It may have mushroomed very early on when college scouts vested interest in his son when he was just 10 years old. That didn’t sit well with LeBron.
College offers
Back in 2015, when Bronny was just 10 years old, LeBron revealed that several college scouts had already approached his son. He didn’t get into the specifics but said that there were already offers on the table.
“Yeah, he’s already got some offers from colleges, it’s pretty crazy. It should be a violation, you shouldn’t be recruiting 10-year-old kids,” James said, per 62 CBS Detroit.
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These are indeed interesting comments. Note that this was in 2015, the first year of his return to Cleveland. It was this time when fans jokingly called him “LeGM” as he was suspected of forming the Cavaliers roster. In other words, he was the puppet master behind the Kevin Love trade as well as the other acquisitions that beefed up the Cavaliers roster.
Fast forward to February 2019, a month after Anthony Davis formally requested a trade, Giannis Antetokounmpo jokingly accused LeBron of tampering during the All-Star draft. There were even rumors that James had secretly met up with Davis to concoct their grand plan.
It’s interesting that way before the myth of “LeGM,” James was already getting a taste of his own medicine. James knows what it feels like to be recruited behind the curtains through his son.
Just like daddy
James also observed that Bronny played just like him. The 10-year-old scion was a pass-first guy, a stark contrast from his teammates, who, according to James, wanted to stuff the stat sheet with points.
“It’s crazy, he plays just like I did. He has great awareness and he’d rather pass first and set guys up. Most kids nowadays just want to score,” James said.
Bronny will enter his senior year in high school this fall. This is an important year as he’ll likely be looking for the best college basketball program that will hone him properly. If he gets some scholarship offers, then this is a tangible sign that Bronny may have it in him to play in the NBA. If not, it’s not the end of the world, but it means he’ll have a lot more challenging road to the Association ahead.
