Bronny James, the son of NBA superstar LeBron James, is expected to stay in the 2024 NBA Draft, league sources said.
James, who suffered a cardiac arrest last July before returning to the court for his freshman season at USC, has been fully cleared to play by the NBA’s Fitness to Play Panel and will participate in all pre-draft activities, beginning with the NBA Draft Combine this week.
James, 19, declared for the NBA Draft on April 5. He also entered the transfer portal to maintain flexibility as he worked out for NBA teams.
Four months after James’ cardiac arrest during a team workout in July, doctors cleared him to return to practice. A family spokesperson said a congenital heart defect caused the incident. He made his college debut on Dec. 10 against Long Beach State and appeared in USC’s final 25 games, averaging 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 19.3 minutes.
A 6-foot-4, 210-pound guard, James was not included in The Athletic’s most recent mock draft following Sunday’s NBA Draft Lottery.
The younger James’ decision comes ahead of a big one for his father, who has to decide whether to opt into his $51.4 million player option for 2024-25 by June 29. Team sources said last month the Lakers are very open to the prospect of helping LeBron fulfill his dream of playing with Bronny by potentially drafting him.
The NBA Draft takes place from June 26-27.
This story will be updated.
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