LeBron James’ younger son, Bryce, has had a rough transition to college with the Arizona Wildcats. While his team keeps dominating in the season and Big 12 play with an undefeated streak, the Wildcats’ freshman has been enjoying the view from the bench. Thus, with just a couple of months left in the season, Bryce has taken a strategic redshirt, drawing some fire from the NCAA community.

Bleacher Report confirmed on X that Bryce would redshirt his freshman season and thus won’t participate further in the 2025-26 season for the Wildcats in any capacity, as a measure to avoid losing a year without much game time in the books.

“Bryce James has chosen to redshirt his freshman season with Arizona, HC Tommy Lloyd announced,” the post’s caption read.

Wildcats head coach Lloyd is quite content with the freshman’s decision, stating that the management looks forward to Bryce as a vital player for the future, and that the redshirt decision will help him continue to grow in the Wildcats environment. “The redshirting decision was just a long play, to give Bryce the most options in his career as his career unfolds,” he said.

“I have real strong belief that Bryce will be a contributor at Arizona in the near future. He’s really shown a lot of progress, not only learning our system but just physically maturing.”

James’ younger son committed to the Wildcats last year after graduating from Sierra Canyon with a CIF State Championship. Riding high on a prolific high school career, Bryce was in for a long haul at the Wildcats, but the immense depth of the squad hampered his early footing on the court in his debut collegiate season.

Thus, the Wildcats’ freshman’s redshirt decision is quite understandable, considering he wants to give himself more time and thus preserve his one year of collegiate eligibility to possibly prepare for the eventual NBA draft. While the decision was taken in James’ younger son’s best interests, the NCAA community didn’t receive it well. Here are some of the reactions on Bleacher Report’s X post.

Draft Jokes, Doubts, and Hope: Fans Weigh In on Bryce James’ Road Ahead

The fans were quick to connect the ties of Bryce’s decision to his father, LeBron James. “Is he getting drafted by the lakers too?” a fan wrote.  “With the 57th pick, the Los Angeles Lakers select,” commented another.

For context, LeBron’s elder son, Bronny, was picked by the former’s NBA team, the Los Angeles Lakers, in the 2024 NBA Draft as the 55th pick. Bronny just played one season at USC before his call came from the Lakers. And with Bryce James turning 19 in June, he would be eligible for the 2026 draft, scheduled a couple of weeks after his birthday.

However, for now, we will have to wait and see whether the Wildcats’ freshman transitions to the NBA without playing any collegiate games. It’s quite unlikely, but these two comments are early jabs at the Wildcats’ freshman ahead of the draft.

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“This was expected. Sad that he couldn’t manage even a single appearance. It’s a shame,” stated another fan.

It’s quite surprising that a player from Bron’s family is struggling to establish a place on a basketball team. While Bronny set the tone with a substantially impressive one-year career at USC, it was up to the younger brother to carry the legacy forward. However, zero minutes in the freshman season is quite disappointing for a player of such enshrined basketball roots. Thus, the comment captures the fans’ disappointment over Bryce’s redshirt decision.

“The fact he’s even at Arizona is crazy lol dude is D3 level at best,” another fan commented. “He came off the bench as a high school senior. I don’t see a world where he ever gets playing time at a D1 program like Arizona,” chimed in another.

Bryce didn’t come to the collegiate circuit with the same flair as his elder brother; it’s quite true. However, it would be too harsh to say the 18-year-old isn’t ready for the NCAA D1 level, despite being an off-the-bench player at Sierra Canyon High School. He has posted impressive performances in high school and at the NIKE EYBL circuit. His performances on the EYBL circuit included 6.9 points and 2.2 rebounds, with nearly 37% from the three-point line.

These stats quietly validate that he has got the talent to succeed on the basketball court, but would require a bit more work before transcending to being a regular starter for a decorated program like the Wildcats. The hustle for Bryce James continues for now in the collegiate circuit. His decision to get into the NBA draft or play at the Wildcats is a tale for another day.

However, it would just be interesting to see how the 18-year-old makes a comeback, showcases his talent, and finally lifts the burden of carrying the James surname from his shoulders. What’s your expectation of Bryce’s upcoming basketball endeavors? Feel free to let us know in the comments.