In classic AAU basketball Dad fashion, Lebron James jumped out of his seat with extreme excitement as he saw his oldest son, Lebron (Bronny) James Jr, dunk in his AAU tournament game this past weekend. Except, that wasn’t the only instance of LeBron James stealing the show away from his son, as he joined in with the pre-game warmups displaying his own array of dazzling dunks. But behind all of Lebron’s antic’s, his son showed why he’s finally the real deal.

Bronny was destined for greatness at an early age; after all, he IS the son of one of the greatest basketball players of all time. However, that’s only half of the story. Bronny’s been playing on a national scale since he was nine years old. Highlight tapes promoting his impressive combination of passing and scoring created a lot of hype before he even entered middle school.

College coaches jumped on Bronny’s recruiting trail as fast as possible. As a fourth-grader, Bronny was watched by University of Kentucky head coach John Calipari. On Ohio State Media day in 2014, Former Ohio State University head coach Thad Matta said, “He’ll be on the recruiting radar… I need to offer him a scholarship.” Despite saying this with a smile on his face, Matta is not alone with his sentiments. Bronny received scholarships all throughout his youth – whether his father liked it or not. Lebron believed the attention his son was getting was “pretty crazy” and told a Detroit Sports radio producer that it should be a violation to recruit players that young. As of June 2016, it is reported Bronny has offers from collegiate basketball powerhouses Duke University and Kentucky.

A lot of the attention Bronny got when he was young was due to his father’s popularity, right? That definitely played a role, except as of late we are starting to truly see Bronny separate himself from the rest of his age.

In early 2018, Bronny led his Old Trail Middle School team to a tournament championship, resulting in more highlight tapes to further expedite the budding star’s exposure. He continued his dominance later that year, where he led his AAU team – North Coast Blue Chips – to several championships. First, the Blue Chips secured the John Lucas All-Star Weekend title in Houston. Then, Bronny led his team to an undefeated weekend at the NY2LA Swish ‘N Dish tournament in Wisconsin and a quarterfinal finish at the Jr. NBA Midwest Championships while playing up an age group.

Coming off an impressive spring season, Bronny enrolled at Crossroads school in Santa Monica, California. Although he was unable to play on the varsity team (with Shaquille O’Neal’s son, Shaqir) due to his age, Bronny proceeded to impress scouts and his father alike with his familiarity of the game.

Following the completion of his final middle school season this past year, Bronny took the sports world by storm. Undeterred by the attention he was about to receive, Bronny decided to join the Nike EYBL, despite being only 14 years old. He teamed up with Strive for Greatness on the under-16 circuit.

Bronny’s skills flourished playing older competition. Scouts were mesmerized by his feel for the game and poise, seemingly unfazed by the crowd. Bronny showcased these attributes all season long on the EYBL and his team finished with a winning record.

Now as the summer AAU season comes to a close, Bronny will be looking ahead to high school. He has already transferred to Sierra Canyon High School in Chatsworth, Los Angeles. Sierra Canyon is well regarded as one of the top high school basketball programs in the nation, producing plenty of Division I talent. Bronny will also be teaming up with Dwyane Wade’s son Zaire, where the two will hope to form similar chemistry that made their father’s so successful in the NBA. Also accompanying Bronny will be five-star recruits B.J. Boston and Ziaire Willaims. Sierra Canyon will look to contend for a national championship.

Standing at six feet, two inches tall, Lebron James Jr is no longer a kid. The prodigy is finally beginning his hopeful ascent into becoming one of the greatest basketball players of all time, much like his father. Credited by his father for being even better than he was at his age, Bronny has massive shoes to fill, but he’s on the right path. This next high school season will be telling just how far Bronny James has come, and the country can’t wait to see his progress.

What’s next for Bronny? Well, he has to finish out his high school career first before we can talk any further about his professional options. As the NBA continues to debate dropping their “one-and-done” by the 2022 class, Bronny might have the opportunity to go straight from high school to the NBA as his father did. But for now, sit back and enjoy his development. Bronny is well on his way to becoming something special, and it’s time for us to start taking notice.