Bryce James, son of NBA great LeBron James, knows how to remain in the spotlight, whether on or off the court. His high school team, Sierra Canyon, was up against Kiyan Anthony’s Long Island Lutheran for the LuHi Holiday Invitational on Dec. 13. While Bryce and Kiyan were sidelined due to injury, the junior James still stole the spotlight with his pre-game interaction with teammates.
A video posted by SportsCenter NEXT on Sunday, Dec. 14, showcased Bryce engaging in a series of elaborate handshakes with his Sierra Canyon teammates. The video instantly created a buzz on Instagram, with fans taking to the comment sections to express their thoughts.
One fan quickly pointed out the similarity between Bryce's handshakes and the one popularized by NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers when he did it with New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner.
“Didn't Aaron Rodgers do that first handshake before?” The comment read.
Other fans appreciated the creativity and execution of the handshakes:
“Wow! great handshakes. What a legacy.”
“It's like it was goin shortest to longest.”
“There's no way y'all…”
However, Bryce James' absence from the game was also a talking point amongst fans, with one curiously commenting:
“Why is he not playing?”
Others, simply in awe of the growing status of Bryce James, compared him with his superstar father, LeBron James, exclaiming:
“The real LeBron James Jr.”
While Bryce James' creative handshakes stole the pre-game spotlight, it was Long Island Lutheran (LuHi) that had the final say on the court. Despite a strong performance from Sierra Canyon’s power forward MG Madison, who chipped in with 12 crucial points, the team couldn’t keep up with LuHi’s dominant display. Kayden Mingo led the charge for LuHi, scoring 20 points to guide his team to a commanding 65-50 victory.
Fans Not Happy As Bryce James Misses The Much Anticipated Clash
There was a significant buzz over the clash of two of the most established high school basketball teams — Sierra Canyon and Long Island Lutheran. The major highlight was the showdown between Bryce James and Kiyan Anthony, two extremely popular players who have a towering basketball legacy behind them. But to everyone's disappointment, both youngsters missed the game.
Sierra Canyon, after traveling across the country to Long Island’s UBS Arena, had to play without its 6-foot-4 shooting guard. Sports Centre Next broke the news on Instagram with a post captioned:
“Both [Bryce James & Kiyan Anthony] are out for the LuHi holiday invitational due to injury.”
It didn't go down well with the fans, with some claiming it was a fabricated situation:
“This has got to be made up, because both legends’ kids that are about to come up the big stage after this year are both not playing is crazy to me 😂,” one fan said.
In any case, Sierra Canyon will be up against Millikan this Saturday, Dec. 21, and they will undoubtedly be hoping their star shooting guard recovers before the game.