Report: Australian NBL recruiting Bronny James

While Bronny James can seemingly go to any college he wants in the United States, it looks as though he has some options outside of the country.

Larry Kestelman, the owner of the Australian NBL, recently revealed that he has had conversations with James’ management about playing in Australia. That would be a huge move for both sides.

Interestingly, Kestelman also indicated that he’d try to lure Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James to the NBL as well.

“We have absolutely reached out and there’s the start of a conversation but it’s very early days,” Kestelman told News Corp.

“It would be incredible to see, not just him, but I know there was a conversation about him and LeBron playing one season together.

“It’s a long shot, but the conversation has begun and we’ll be in the mix.”

A top young player heading to play in Australia wouldn’t be something new in the basketball world. Fans will certainly recall when LaMelo Ball and R.J. Hampton played one season in the NBL, with Ball suiting up for the Illawarra Hawks and Hampton trotting out for the New Zealand Breakers.

Both of them were later selected in the first round of the 2020 NBA Draft. Ball is now one of the best young players in the league, having already gotten an All-Star Game appearance in his career, while Hampton has struggled to receive lots of playing time this season with the Orlando Magic.

The younger James might be intrigued by heading overseas to prepare himself for the NBA against professional players, and he will certainly keep his options open.

The 18-year-old currently has offers from the University of Memphis, Ohio State University and University of Southern California. Two of those seem to be among the frontrunners for him.

“According to a person with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly, James will make a decision on his college commitment after the season, and his top three schools are Ohio State — his father’s favorite — USC and [University of] Oregon,” wrote Luca Evans of the Los Angeles Times.

Ohio State, USC and Oregon are all sponsored by Nike, who signed the younger James to an NIL deal back in October. Given that, it seems unlikely that he ends up at a school sponsored by Adidas or another Nike competitor.

The Sierra Canyon School guard is currently rated as a four-star recruit by 247 Sports and ranked as the No. 34 player in the 2023 class.

He seems to be getting better and better with each passing day, and some NBA players have been taking notice of his improvement.

It’ll be interesting to see where his next step takes him, but what’s sure is that plenty of eyes and cameras will be on him wherever he goes.