Category: Sierra Canyon Boys Basketball

Sierra Canyon, Bronny James to play Friday night on ESPN 2

Bronny James and his high school team are scheduled to play on ESPN2 hours before LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers play on ESPN.

Just in case you needed an extra dose of James Family basketball on Friday night, the folks at ESPN 2 have decided to carry one of Sierra Canyon and Bronny James’ games only a few hours before his dad LeBron James takes on the New Orleans Pelicans on ESPN.

Several of Sierra Canyon’s games have been broadcast by ESPN, including a halftime interview featuring LeBron James by Rachael Nichols during their game against LeBron’s alma mater St. Vincent-St. Mary’s, but all have been on ESPN’s streaming platforms before Friday night. Friday’s game between Canyon and The Patrick School (New Jersey) is set to air at 6 p.m. on ESPN2.

Canyon suffered their first loss of the season earlier this week against Rancho Christian in an overtime game in The Classic at Damien. Bronny James is coming off the bench again for the Trail Blazers as they’ve recently gotten back Ziaire Williams, in addition, star players BJ Boston and Terren Frank. Zaire Wade, son of Dwyane Wade, is also healthy and back in the line-up.

LeBron James takes advantage of being home to see son Bronny play

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers have one game away from home between now and January 7.

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers suffered a kick to the groin and a loss in their Christmas Day game against the Los Angeles Clippers, but it looks like LeBron is recovering nicely with a day of treatment and the opportunity to see his son Bronny play with his Sierra Canyon Trail Blazers.

LeBron was in attendance to see Bronny and the son of Dwyane Wade, Zaire Wade, play for the Trail Blazers against Ribet Academy. Wade was dealing with an injury earlier in the year but appears to be back, connecting on a couple of baskets for Bronny.

Bronny only had four points on the night but the connection with Wade led to some of them. Bronny continues to play his role on a stacked Sierra Canyon team that is now 12-0 as they continue tournament play in the “Classic at Damien.”

LeBron likely won’t be in attendance for Bronny’s next game in the tournament as the Lakers will likely be travelling to Portland on Friday night before their game Saturday against Damian Lillard’s Trail Blazers.

LeBron James was nervous but Bronny James delivers best game over SVSM

LeBron James said he was more nervous than his son Bronny but his eldest son had his best game yet against his father’s alma mater.

Although the Los Angeles Lakers are looking to stay perfect away from Staples Center later today when they take on the Atlanta Hawks, there is no doubt that Saturday night was one of the biggest nights ever for LeBron James and his family as his eldest son Bronny James had his best performance as a high school player in a win over LeBron’s alma mater.

Bronny James had a career-high 15 points, including a go-ahead basket and steal in the final seconds of the game to help his Sierra Canyon Trail Blazers team defeat St. Vincent-St. Mary’s (Akron, Ohio).

During the game, James was interviewed by ESPN’s Rachel Nichols and he said he was more nervous than Bronny.

From Tarek Fattal of the L.A. Daily News

“I think I was a lot more nervous than my son coming in here,” LeBron said to ESPN’s Rachael Nichols. “It’s been such a surreal moment for myself, our family and Bronny himself. It’s full circle that I’m here in my home state, my son is here with his high school playing my alma mater.”

The nerves were completely understandable but in the James family way, Bronny lived up to the expectations. The details of last night were also special to see as Bronny wore SVSM-themed Air Zoom Generations, the first signature shoe that LeBron ever had. Bronny even earned a nickname from his “uncle” Dwyane Wade.

Meanwhile, James’ teammates from the 2003 Ohio State title team were in attendance at the game in Columbus, Ohio. James was also joined by his wife Savannah courtside and his friend and agent, Rich Paul.

Bronny was named the game’s MVP and awarded a trophy for his play after the game.

Report: LeBron to be at Bronny Jr.’s game against St. Vincent-St. Mary

LeBron James having the opportunity to watch his son Bronny James Jr. on Saturday will be a special family moment.

LeBron James has had an MVP-caliber season in year 17, but for now he will take a break to enjoy a joyous family moment Saturday.

Per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, James will be in attendance at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, to watch his son Bronny James Jr. play against his alma mater, St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. A freshman for Sierra Canyon, Bronny has flashed his athleticism with some dunks throughout the year.  Sierra Canyon and St. Vincent-St. Mary will tip off at 8:30 p.m. EST., and the game can be viewed on ESPN3.

The Los Angeles Lakers have an off day Saturday as they come off a win against the Miami Heat. Per McMenamin, James chartered a flight to Columbus so he could watch Bronny play. The Lakers will play the third game of a five-game road trip against the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday.

With the NBA schedule being hectic, here’s what James said about not being able to see his children perform in their athletic events.

“If you ask me what’s been the only sucky thing about this season so far is that my son has played like six games into his freshman year and I haven’t seen one,” James said after the Lakers’ win in Miami on Friday night. “I love what I do. I don’t take this for granted. This is a dream come true. But missing my son, you know Bron Jr., missing [my other son] Bryce’s first game the other day when we left for Orlando, his first game of the season. Missing my daughter at gymnastics and things of that nature, and I understand the business, but it sucks.”

James called being able to watch his son play against his alma mater “a pretty surreal, come-full-circle, unbelievable thing.”

The opportunity James has to watch Bronny is special. LeBron came onto the national scene during high school, and with Bronny gaining more national attention, it has to be cool for LeBron to see his son play in the state where everything began.

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The best dunks from Bronny James in 2019, the year he took his game above the rim

Watch the best dunks from Bronny James in 2019, the year he took his game above the rim.

Bronny James officially arrived on the high school basketball scene in 2019 and he won’t be leaving the national spotlight anytime soon. As a freshmen, LeBron’s son has successfully cracked the varsity rotation for a Sierra Canyon group that is loaded with blue chip prospects and considered one of the top teams in America. He’s also displayed a wet jumper, tight handle and solid effort defensively while consistently playing the game the right way.

But in addition to all that, we are now winding down the year that Bronny first started finishing above the rim. In 2018, as an eighth grader, James Jr. wasn’t quite able to dunk just yet. This year, however, he’s thrown down windmills and anything else you can imagine. His first dunk during a high school game occurred on October 20 and he’s deposited several high-flying finishes since.

Below are the best dunks from Bronny in 2019 courtesy of the crew from Ball Is Life.

Bronny’s Sierra Canyon squad is scheduled to meet LeBron’s alma mater, St. Vincent-St. Mary, tonight in Columbus, Ohio. The showdown between the two high school basketball powers is one of the most highly anticipated matchups of the season. While Sierra Canyon is ranked as high as No. 2 nationally by a number of outlets, both teams are projected to be contenders for their respective state championships.

Even though he’s only a ninth grader, all eyes–or at least the majority of eyes–will be locked on Bronny this evening in Ohio just as they have been ever since he first set foot on a basketball court. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN3. The game was originally going to be played in Akron on St. Vincent-St. Mary’s home floor. In order to meet ticket demand, though, it was moved two hours away to 19,000-seat Nationwide Arena.

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LeBron James emotional for ‘full circle’ of Bronny Jr. playing alma mater St. Vincent-St. Mary’s

Los Angeles Laker star LeBron James spoke about his feelings regarding his son’s upcoming game against his high school alma mater.

[lawrence-related id=23045]LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers will start a five-game road trip on Wednesday night against the Orlando Magic that will take them through five Eastern Conference cities, but the coming weekend is going to be an important one in the James family household for reasons beyond the Lakers keeping a perfect record away from Staples Center.

This Saturday, LeBron James’ eldest son Bronny Jr. and his Sierra Canyon Trail Blazers squad will be in Columbus, Ohio to face off against LeBron’s alma mater, St. Vincent-St. Mary’s High School from Akron, Ohio. As the Lakers are between games on Saturday, James is expected to be in attendance if the weather allows. James opened up about how that day will feel in an interview with ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

(H/T to our own Cody Taylor from Rookie Wire)

Obviously, everybody knows that St. Vincent-St. Mary is when people started to recognize me from a national standpoint and for it to be 15 years later and my son is about to play a high school game versus my alma mater in our home state, the only thing that would have been more emotional is if my son was playing St. Vincent-St. Mary at the LeBron James Arena in Akron. That would have been like, that would have been too much.

It’s just a pretty cool thing. You don’t know how things are going to line up in life and it almost seems like it’s all coming back full circle seeing my oldest son doing the things that he’s doing. I’m proud of him and his basketball club. They got a great team but more importantly, they are great kids.

James was able to see his son play during some fall league games but since the Lakers season has started and Sierra Canyon’s season has started, there have been a lot of conflicts. But if James does show up, expect him to be somewhere near fellow Sierra Canyon basketball dad Dwyane Wade.

James, of course, burst onto the national scene as a junior with St. Vincent-St. Mary’s after he was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. During his senior season, he also was the first player to have his game airing on ESPN, with college commentators Jay Bilas, Bill Walton and Dick Vitale on the call.

While this game won’t have quite as much pomp and circumstance, it’s hard to imagine how much this game will mean to James and his family after all these years.

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Drake gives shout out to Sierra Canyon, Bronny James on Instagram

Drake’s support for Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James also extends to his son, Bronny James Jr.

After being featured on the front page of the Washington Post and having his highlights posted on every sports website, Bronny James Jr. and his Sierra Canyon Trail Blazers have gotten yet another boost when it comes to the awareness of their squad. As if they needed any extra attention, with their games being carried locally on Fox Sports in Southern California and 15 games being aired on ESPN, one of the world’s biggest stars put them on the map.

Recording artist Drake posted a selfie of him sipping on a drink on Tuesday night as he was wearing a navy blue Sierra Canyon hoodie, no doubt a nod to Bronny James Jr., Zaire Wade and the celebrity squad they have. It also got the attention of Bronny himself.

View this post on Instagram

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A post shared by champagnepapi (@champagnepapi) on

Drake is no stranger to being a hype beast when it comes to different sports teams, but he wanted to show he was “scumming” for his nephew, referring to Bronny Jr. Drake, of course, is close friends with James as well as a business partner of his. So the support for his eldest son, who has a following unlike any we’ve ever seen for a high school freshman, shouldn’t be a shock either.

 

Bronny James throws down alley-oop finish during Sierra Canyon’s 76-66 win over Millennium

Bronny James throws down high-flying alley-oop finish during Sierra Canyon’s 76-66 win over Millennium.

Bronny James caught an alley-oop from teammate Amari Bailey during Sierra Canyon’s 76-66 win over Millenium on Saturday night and threw it down with authority for an emphatic slam. Bailey is a five-star 2022 shooting guard for Sierra Canyon who finished with 18 points and five assists during the victory that was streamed live on ESPN+.

University of Kentucky commit Brandon Boston, Jr. finished with a game-high 21 points for the Trailblazers in the The HoopHall West’s most anticipated matchup. Bronny James helped contribute to the win by forcing a defensive five-second count (50-second mark), burying a 3-pointer from the corner (1:59 mark) and finishing above the rim in transition on the pass from Bailey which is featured in the video below (2:35 mark).

Bronny finished with five points and three rebounds in 21 minutes of work off the bench. After hitting the triple from the corner, Paul Biancardi–the National Recruiting Director for ESPN who was also the analyst during the broadcast–said that LeBron James Jr.’s jumper is much more advanced than his father’s was at this age. LeBron would later agree with that point on Twitter by sharing the following.

“I hope LeBron doesn’t get mad at me, but I think Bronny’s jumpshot is a little bit better,” Biancardi said during the broadcast. In response, LeBron James Sr. said he could never be mad at facts.

“Can’t ever be mad at the facts!!! LeBron tweeted. “Flame thrower he has! And by the way I probably got the 3rd best jump shot in the household. Bryce Maximus got a cooker too!”

Zaire Wade was sidelined during the contest with a boot cast on his right foot. Next up for Bronny and Sierra Canyon is an epic matchup with LeBron’s alma mater, St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, on December 14 in Columbus, Ohio.

Photographer showcases similarities between LeBron and Bronny’s dunks

Basketball photographer Cassy Athena captured a beautiful side-by-side of LeBron James and his eldest son looking similar as they dunk.

Tuesday night was a huge basketball night in the James Family household as LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers notched their best win of the young season against the Denver Nuggets before Bronny James Jr. made his first career high school start and his home debut for the Sierra Canyon Trail Blazers.

Reports from the scene at Sierra Canyon depicted a Beatlemania-type atmosphere, with a sellout crowd and media outlets from all over the country in attendance for freshman James’ first start. But one photographer captured the essence of why so many are gravitating to Bronny’s first high school season.

Basketball photographer Cassy Athena took a pair of her photos of Bronny and LeBron, with the similarities being as striking as could be side-by-side.

Bronny has a long way to go before getting to LeBron’s level on the court but the following and intrigue surrounding him are unlike anything his father at this point in his young career.

He won’t be expected to be a leader on his team this season, but he’s already showing some flashes that the apple doesn’t fall from the tree.

Bronny James throws down dunk in first career start for Sierra Canyon

Bronny James Jr. made his first career high school start on Tuesday night and made some big plays in a win for Sierra Canyon.

Moments after LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers notched their most impressive win of the season to this point with last night’s 105-96 victory over the Denver Nuggets, the James family reached another milestone on the basketball court.

Bronny James Jr., LeBron’s eldest son, got his first career high school start for the Sierra Canyon Trail Blazers on Tuesday night, according to Tarek Fattal of the L.A. Daily News. Fattal also spoke with Sierra Canyon coach Andre Chevalier, who said that Bronny’s consistency in practice earned him the start on Tuesday.

“(Bronny) has been consistent in practice,” Sierra Canyon coach Andre Chevalier said of James earning the start. “He’s the only guy this year that’s practiced everyday. He stepped into the opportunity when it presented itself.”

Bronny is on a team with a couple of top recruits and several players who are off to Division 1 schools next year, so his stats aren’t going to be blowing anybody away as he finds a way to fit in with a group of more mature players. But he did already get a highlight on the board in his first start with an alley-oop dunk, to score two of his four points on the night.