Is Bryce James now at Villanova after LeBron James 76ers move?

LeBron James made his "last decision" official on July 24, signing a two-year, $8 million contract with the Philadelphia 76ers after leaving the Los Angeles Lakers. The 41-year-old's decision to join Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey, and Joel Embiid remains the biggest story of this NBA offseason. And it didn't take long for the speculation to spread from father to sons.

Early speculation suggested the Lakers could trade elder son Bronny James to the Sixers. However, his agent, Rich Paul, told ESPN that Bronny and LeBron are not a package deal and that no trade is in place. The Lakers plan to keep developing Bronny under head coach J.J. Redick, as his $2.3 million salary is fully guaranteed for the 2026–27 season.

Now a fake report targeted LeBron's younger son, Bryce. Parody account @ShaneTuttleNCAA posted a bogus graphic claiming, "Bryce James is transferring to Villanova after one season at Arizona. James will move to Philadelphia for the 2026-27 NCAA season.” 

Most surprisingly, the fake transfer report reached nearly 3 million views on X. For background on how he reached Tucson, Bryce was a three-star guard out of Sierra Canyon High School in California who committed to the Arizona Wildcats men's basketball program over offers from Duquesne and Ohio State. 

He redshirted his entire freshman season and never played in a game. Meanwhile, Arizona opened the year 22-0 and advanced to the Final Four. Head coach Tommy Lloyd chose to preserve Bryce's eligibility instead of using him for limited garbage-time minutes.

"The redshirting decision was just a long play, to give Bryce the most options in his career as his career unfolds," Lloyd told the Big 12 Network per ESPN, adding that he expects Bryce to contribute to the program in the near future.

His father fully backs the patient approach. When Bryce committed to Tucson, LeBron praised Lloyd as a straight shooter and proudly declared the James family part of the Bear Down community. Just to recap, "The King" even served as a superfan during the Wildcats' recent Final Four run.

So, the truth is Bryce remains an Arizona Wildcat for the 2026–27 season under his redshirt status.

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