Lakers star LeBron James comes to Berkeley for Cal-USC game

While the Warriors were playing on the other side of the country on Wednesday night, their longtime nemesis LeBron James was in the Bay Area, taking in some college basketball.

The Lakers star flew to Berkeley for Wednesday’s sold-out Pac-12 matchup between USC and Cal. James was in the house by tip-off to watch his son, Bronny, who is a freshman at USC and got the start for the Trojans on Wednesday.

Hard to see here but LeBron James is up at Cal to watch Bronny James + USC play pic.twitter.com/tjs4PEwbbZ

— Luca Evans (@bylucaevans) February 8, 2024

Rumors began circulating about James’ potential presence in Haas Pavilion about three hours before the 8 p.m. tip-off, with the contest being the first sellout Cal has had for men’s basketball in seven years.

James’ Lakers are back on the West Coast after an eight-day, five-game road trip out East, finishing with a 124-118 win over the Hornets on Monday in Charlotte. The Lakers are back in action Thursday against the Denver Nuggets in Los Angeles, likely making this a quick trip to the Bay Area for LeBron.

But could LeBron be back in the Bay Area for Bronny and USC’s next game? The Lakers have a back-to-back, playing the Pelicans at home on Friday night before getting three days off in a row. The Trojans play the second leg of their Bay Area road trip against Stanford on Saturday night at Maples Pavilion. It wouldn’t be a shock to see James back in NorCal to watch his son.

Bronny James playing at all in the 2023-24 season is itself noteworthy after he suffered a cardiac arrest during a practice in July. But Bronny was cleared to return in late November, made his collegiate debut a few weeks later — with dad LeBron in the crowd — and has become a contributor for the Trojans since.