Bronny James has cleared a major hurdle ahead of the 2024 NBA Draft, and as a result, the eldest son of LeBron James is apparently slated to forego the remainder of his collegiate eligibility and make the jump to the league. According to Adrian Wojnarowski and Jonathan Givony of ESPN, the NBA’s Fitness to Play Panel gave James the all-clear in the aftermath of his cardiac arrest and an ensuing heart procedure before this past college basketball season.
While James can now go through the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago that runs through May 19 before making up his mind on whether he’ll go pro or return to college — the deadline for that decision is May 29 — Shams Charania of The Athletic brought word that the expectation is James will make the jump to the NBA.
Sources: Bronny James is expected to stay in the 2024 NBA Draft. The USC freshman has been fully cleared to play in the league as part of Fitness to Play panel and will participate in all pre-draft activities starting with the Draft Combine this week. pic.twitter.com/UDf3HanCAS
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 13, 2024
ESPN reports that James is going to participate in 5-on-5 scrimmages in Chicago as part of the combine process. If he does end up going to the NBA, James will have to do so on the back of a difficult freshman season at USC which was severely hampered by his medical issues, as the former 4-star recruit averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 0.8 steals in 19.3 minutes per game — he did not suit up for the Trojans until Dec. 10, and only six of his 19 appearances for the team came as a member of the starting lineup. At the conclusion of the Trojans’ season, James declared for the NBA Draft while entering the transfer portal.