LeBron James: Stop trying to recruit my 10-year-old son

LeBron James wants basketball scouts to back off his son. After all, he's only 10. 

The highlight reel of LeBron James Jr., lighting it up at the John Lucas basketball tournament in New Orleans has more than five million views on YouTube in less than a week. 

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Ohio State coach Thad Matta admitted the younger LeBron is "on his radar," and the elder LeBron told CBS Detroit that his son is already receiving letters from colleges. 

"My son is going to be a kid as long as he can be," James said. "That's all he needs to worry about. He loves to play the game of basketball, he loves to play video games, he loves to do his homework. That's all that matters. Everything else doesn't matter. He loves his brother, his sister, his dad, his mom, his grandmom. Let him be a kid."

Perhaps LeBron is worried about his son becoming too good, as some social media memes have suggested. After all, they could be playing against each other in the NBA in the 2024-25 season. 

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Technically, NCAA rules don't prevent college scouts from observing children as young as LeBron Jr., in sanctioned competitions. But they can't actively recruit until an athlete gets to Grade 9. 

In addition to being on the radar of Ohio State, Prince James has also been seen by Kentucky's John Calipari, who was in the stands at the AAU Fourth Grade National Championships in 2014.

Only in America, right? Canadians would never put so much pressure or hype on a young athlete. 

Of course. Except for hockey players.

(See Crosby, Sidney; and Gretzky, Wayne)

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