Bronny James to enter the NBA draft

Bronny James has made it official.

The son of worldwide basketball superstar LeBron James has elected to enter the NBA draft, he posted on Instagram Friday. The USC freshman will also maintain his college eligibility and enter the transfer portal.

James averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists across 25 games (six starts) for the Trojans this past year.

Once considered a potential top 15 draft selection coming out of high school, James suffered a cardiac arrest episode last summer and was subsequently sidelined for five months. The incident hindered his immediate productivity at the college level.

Reports of James entering the transfer portal surfaced earlier this week after USC coach Andy Enfield left the program to take over at SMU.

LeBron James has often talked about his desire to play in the NBA with his son, but the pair does not plan to attempt to land on the same squad, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

“LeBron wants Bronny to be his own man,” the Jameses’ agent, Rich Paul, told ESPN in March.

Should James remain in college, Wojnarowski reported that a likely destination would be Duquesne, as new head coach Dru Joyce was a high school teammate of LeBron. The Dukes upset No. 6-seeded BYU in the first round of NCAA Tournament action this year in their first trip to the “Big Dance” since 1977.