Scouting Bryce James’ MVP performance at the HoopHall Classic

SPRINGFIELD, Mass – Bryce James took MVP honors in Sierra Canyon’s 60-46 win over Grayson High School on Saturday at the HoopHall Classic after finishing with 16 points, five rebounds, and four steals in just 17 minutes of action.

James, the younger son of LeBron James, came off the bench, and didn’t even check into the game until midway through the second quarter. With the crowd cheering every time he touched the ball, he gradually settled in before making a major impact in the second half. He ultimately deliveed his most notable performance yet in a major national event, less than three weeks after announcing his commitment to Arizona.

While LeBron wasn’t in Springfield himself, he reacted to the performance on social media.

Bryce James going crazy in the Hoophall Classic right now! Flame ? thrower

— LeBron James (@KingJames) January 19, 2025

From an evaluator’s perspective, the first thing noticeable about James is the progression of his frame. He’s clearly continued to grow and looked to be at least 6-foot-5, if not close to his listed 6-foot-6. In addition to his increased size, James is also filling out his frame and adding noticeable strength, and yet still has plenty of room to continue adding muscle mass in the coming months and years.

Based on his performance at Saturday’s HoopHall Classic, James has created a very clearly defined niche for his floor game. James approaches the game like a shooter. He provides gravity spacing the floor, can condense his release to get it off quickly when he doesn’t have much separation and is also a threat to be a movement shooter when coming off screens. James has excellent balance on the way up into a very clean release at the top. He also has an equally clean pull-up he can rely on when defenders run him off the arc. While he’s not otherwise a creator off the dribble, there was one flash of potential late in the first half, when he was able to get all the way to the rim.

Bryce James was RED HOT from deep in Sierra Canyon’s HoopHall classic victory!

? 16 PTS
? 5 REB
? 4 STL
? 4 3PM pic.twitter.com/bb7CKmgalr

— NBA Future Starts Now (@nbafuturenow) January 19, 2025

While Bryce got more aggressive looking for his shot once he got hot in the second, he’s similar to his older brother Bronny James in that he’s generally content to play within the flow of the game and plays a typically unselfish, team-oriented brand of basketball.

Defensively, James was physical and active, both in passing lanes and on the glass, for a Sierra Canyon team that played collectively hard for all 32 minutes.

It was also notable to see the sheer joy his teammates and coaches took in his success. He was met by hugs from virtually everyone on the bench when he checked out for the final time and the announcement of his MVP award was greeted by nothing but celebration.

Long term, James still projects as more of a developmental project for Arizona, who isn’t expected to make significant contributions as a freshman. Simultaneously though, it is very clear that he is continuing to improve and trending in the right direction.