As Bronny James begins to gear up for his senior season at Sierra Canyon High School, all eyes will be on LeBron’s son with his college decision on the horizon.
The James family has made it clear that Bronny intends to go the college route as opposed to other pathways to the NBA like the G League Ignite, Overtime Elite or one year overseas. He is already drawing plenty of attention as he begins to take official visits, and he even recently signed a NIL endorsement deal with Nike for the upcoming season.
For those who still haven’t seen Bronny play, you’ll have a few opportunities coming up.
On Friday, Oct. 14, Bronny will be competing for California Basketball Club in the third-annual Top Flight Invite showcase tournament, which runs through Sunday, Oct. 16 and is available for streaming on ESPN+.
The following week — on Thursday, Oct. 20 and Friday, Oct. 21 — Bronny and CBC will take part in Overtime Elite’s preseason tournament.
But before he takes the floor for these two showcases, where does Bronny rank among his peers in the high school class of 2023? The Sporting News breaks it all down for you below.
What is Bronny James’ ranking in the class of 2023?
Depending on the scouting service of your choosing, James could have a completely different ranking. It’s uncommon for a player’s range to be as wide as Bronny’s, but he’s also a unique prospect. Being LeBron’s son, some talent evaluators could be slightly harsher on the 18-year-old, while others could favor his assumed potential.
Take a look at his ranking on a few of the premier scouting websites.
Ranked from as high as 34 to as low as 61, it’s clear that scouts and talent evaluators are having trouble accurately placing Bronny among his peers.
24/7 Sports also does a composite ranking — taking the class ranks from several different websites to generate one average number — and James lands 45th in the Class of 2023 on that list.
How have some of the other No. 45-ranked high school prospects fared as they pursued a journey to the NBA? Let’s take a look.
Recent players with same ranking as Bronny James
Going with Bronny’s 24/7 Sports composite ranking, let’s take a look at other players who were the No. 45-ranked prospect coming out of high school.
(Rankings courtesy of 24/7 Sports, dating back to 2003.)
| Year | Player | School | Drafted? | NBA games played |
| 2022 | Elijah Fisher | Texas Tech | TBD | TBD |
| 2021 | Josh Minott | Memphis | 2022 — No. 45 OVR | TBD |
| 2020 | Micah Peavy | Texas Tech | TBD | TBD |
| 2019 | Omar Payne | Florida | TBD | TBD |
| 2018 | Elijah Weaver | USC | TBD | TBD |
| 2017 | Charles O’Bannon Jr. | TCU | TBD | TBD |
| 2016 | Shamorie Ponds | St. John’s | No | 4 |
| 2015 | Kerwin Roach | Texas | No | 0 |
| 2014 | Ja’Quan Newton | Miami | No | 0 |
| 2013 | Derrick Walton | Michigan | No | 45 |
| 2012 | Brice Johnson | UNC | 2016 — No. 25 OVR | 21 |
| 2011 | Sheldon McClennan | Texas | No | 0 |
| 2010 | Keala King | Arizona State | No | 0 |
| 2009 | Jamal Coombs-McDaniel | UConn | No | 0 |
| 2008 | Devin Ebanks | West Virginia | 2010 — No. 43 OVR | 63 |
| 2007 | Chris Wright | Georgetown | No | 3 |
| 2006 | Jerome Dyson | UConn | No | 9 |
| 2005 | Wilson Chandler | DePaul | 2007 — No. 23 OVR | 676 |
| 2004 | Cedric Simmons | NC State | 2006 — No. 15 OVR | 75 |
| 2003 | Chris Taft | Pittsburgh | 2005 — No. 42 OVR | 17 |
Of the 15 prospects on that list (excluding the five who are still in college), eight players appeared in an NBA game. Only three of them were first-round picks, and only one player — Wilson Chandler — played a full season’s worth of games at the NBA level.
Based on his high school ranking, history stacks the odds against Bronny to stick and stay in the league. But to be clear: high school rankings are far from a direct correlation to success in the NBA (see: Ja Morant, who was a zero-star recruit).
As Bronny enters his senior season with his college commitment around the corner, it’ll be worth following along to see how he develops as a prospect.
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