[cheering]
[Sondheimer] There really was no comparing to the scrutiny
that was being given to Sierra Canyon.
I mean, they went to eight different states for games.
That's never been done before in California.
So they had the challenge of going to school during the week,
then flying out...
It was like they were on a college or professional team.
And these are teenagers,
and nobody knew how they would react or how they would perform.
You have the people that love 'em and you have the people that hate 'em.
[indistinct chatter]
[girl] Okay, cut it! Cut it!
- Outta the way. - Sorry.
- Dude... - What? What'd you say?
[chatter]
- See my dawg Pedro. Pedro! - What?
Hey, look, this is the man right here. All right?
He does a lot of hard work for this school.
- Yeah, yeah. - That nobody sees. He's the man.
- Hey, Harold. - You tell 'em, Harold.
Hey, Harold, move. This is my shot.
- The man right here. - This is my moment.
Who's in here?
Boston boy! Kentucky Wildcat!
Mr. Boston, how are you doing today, man? Take two.
Z-Wade, boy... [chuckles]
One name is B and one name is Z. Okay? And these are my Gs.
[chuckles] Ooh-whee.
He just always brings positive vibes, positive energy, you know?
Aaron Frank, do you have time for one question, sir?
[Ziaire] He doesn't wanna have to lean upon his dad for anything he does in life.
He wants to earn everything.
He wants to compete and fight for a scholarship.
- [announcer] It's game time! - [shouting]
[woman] So on the recruitment front,
how has that whole process been going for you?
[Zaire] Since I got to Sierra, it's picked up a lot.
I have a lot of new interest, and we'll see towards the end of the year.
Dylan Black here, reporting live with ESPN. Dylan.
- Are you excited about tonight's game? - Yes, sir.
[commentator] Dwyane Wade is in the building.
Alley-oop! And a throwdown for Zaire Wade.
[commentator 2] That makes Dad happy.
[commentator] Hey, look at the Euro-step.
They call him Z-Wade, and how about Gabrielle Union pumping her fist?
We winnin' by, what? 20? 20, 30?
- 20? 30? Wow! - What you think?
Lot of confidence there, Dylan.
[commentator] Z-Wade, having himself a ballgame.
Look at the pump fake and then the step back.
[announcer] Six-two, senior.
Number two, Zaire Wade!
Cut.
- [whistle blows] - [Zaire groans]
[crowd exclaiming]
[somber music]
[speaks indistinctly]
[Zaire] So we had a flight the next morning.
And I got it checked and they said I tore some ligaments in there,
and they said I'd be out for eight weeks.
I thought they was playing around because
I've never had an injury, like, that serious before.
When they said eight weeks, I was like, "Dang!"
Everything was going good, coaches were just starting to look at me.
And then out of nowhere, it just, like, stopped.
Why does it sound like a sad movie over here?
I'm depressed.
Why?
Why don't you take a look? Go ahead and take a look.
At first, my initial reaction was just like...
I was just scared. You know, I thought my whole season was over.
I was really like, damn, you can't take basketball for granted.
You know, every moment you are healthy and you got a chance to work out,
like, you got a chance to do this,
like, do it.
You feel me? 'Cause when you can't do it, you really can't do it.
Like, I had a boot on and I couldn't... I could barely walk.
Like, I just couldn't work out.
[indistinct chatter]
[player] You're not really hurt for real.
- [laughs] - Inside the bucket, in the hoop.
[school bell rings]
[indistinct chatter and laughter]
[teacher] Anyway, so let's get going.
So the idea is, I wanna know...
which... there's two up here that are identical.
And only two that are identical...
[Krystle] So Shy came to me and he brought up Sierra Canyon.
And I was like, "Well, why? What is this about?"
I basically saw it as opportunity
to get in practice with Division I guys every day
for the next couple years. That should be really good for me.
We reached out and we applied, like normal people.
Because remember, we're not affiliated... a family member or, you know,
a relative to anybody famous.
We are rock-solid, middle-class type people.
When we told our family that we were moving across the country,
they kinda looked like, "Are you serious? No you're not. Why?"
You know, like, "For what?" Why can't we just, you know, stay here
in Boston and, you know, like, put Boston on the map?
One, two, three, four, five... You see five, you got five, six...
[Krystle] When everybody heard about the opportunity
for Shy to grow and develop, and try to take his game...
and his education to the next level,
they were all for it.
Yeah. Eventually.
Wait, what she ask? What did she ask?
[girl] If they both have a carbon backbone.
[teacher] ...is that carbon sort of structure...
[girl] Wait, they have a straight carbon...
[teacher] And then the iso...
[school bell rings]
[indistinct chatter]
No, it's not permanent.
Public school, teachers don't really care, there's just... it's 30 to a class.
Just leaving there knowing I wasn't gonna come back, it's crazy.
You know, I still miss it there but, you know... my life got other plans, so...
You know, just my day-to-day life, all I do is I wake up,
train twice in the morning. I go in the afternoon, get recovery,
you know, and then train later in the day and just get my rest in between there.
[bell rings]
[all] Ooh!
Next!
- Next! - Go for that one.
Oh, see, there's no room left on the table.
- Gazebo, you want to go get our bridge? - Give me your bridge.
[laughter]
[teacher] Okay.
[BJ] You know, being a student here was crazy
'cause there's only, like, 12 people in the class.
The teachers are really into it with you, and the students are into it.
You know, so we had to build a bridge.
And it was like whoever held up the most books will win.
- [girl] Oh, no. - [boy] It's like his knee broke...
[all] Ooh!
- Oh, game over. - Oh!
[teacher] Next!
[BJ] So we ain't paint ours, we just had sticks.
Everybody's looking nice, ours was generic, so...
They was like... they was hatin', oh, I'm not gonna win, blah blah blah.
- [teacher] Who's next? - Oh!
Who's next? You guys? You wanna go?
- Us. Set me up. Set me up. - [teacher] I think that's great.
- [teacher] Awesome. - [girl] Oh, God.
- And now... - Oh, shoot.
- [teacher] You can do it. - Brothers...
Bro, I'll put the... no...
- Boston. Boston, please... - Oh, God.
- [girl] No. - [boys] Ooh...
Everybody, relax.
- Take a deep breath. We good. - [teacher] We're relaxed.
- It's you that's uptight. - I know, I am a little...
- [laughter] - I'm hot.
- I don't wanna... - [teacher] Come on...
- It's gonna hold more than two. - You sure?
Yeah, I'm sure.
[Ziaire] You gotta believe, brother.
- Oh! - That thing is on the gangsta lean.
-If you don't put down a book... -I'm scared, bruh.
-[teacher chuckles] Six. -Oh, snap.
- You can do it. - Nah, that's good. We good.
Nah, bro. That's what you think.
- We're Gucci. - What were you talking about?
- [teacher] That's seven. - Look...
-We is good, man. -[students exclaim]
That's what we do!
We had the most books and they were just quiet the whole rest of the class.
Here we go. Here we go. Bottom of the rack, bam.
I'm in love with you.
Bring us some more. Matter of fact, give us 35.
[laughter]
We're gonna get to 35, wreck it.
Watch us stand on it.
- It's the grip. - [teacher] Eighteen...
- Brothers know how to cook. - [all] Oh!
Boston!
- Okay, can you pick up the books? - Okay, I'm sorry.
- Well done. - Whoo!
[teacher] Who's next? Who's next?
- Go ahead. - [girl] Victor, I'm finna go.
[Ziaire] We won? That's what I like to see.
[school bell rings]
You got a system, y equals 3x, minus 34...
Y equals 2x minus 5.
- Is one of these variables by itself? - [girl] Yeah.
- Which one? - [indistinct]
This y is by itself? Y is 3x minus 34 here. Wait a minute, though.
This y is by itself, too.
So, Corey...
Right here, Corey. Yeah, you, talking to your neighbor over there.
- I see you. - I was not here.
[Bronny] I'm a math student. I like math a lot.
I think I got it from my dad.
I don't get any extra attention, really, in school.
But I do have a hoodie on a lot.
I got my hood on a lot, I do have my headphones on a lot at school,
so I don't really... yeah, I don't really talk to a lot of people
other than my teammates in school.
It's been so long since someone has regularly called me LeBron Junior.
[twangy music]
My son is in the 9th grade and he's a kid.
[teacher] ...four. Help me out. Negative 25, right? Negative 25...
[LeBron] And we're not even thinking about nothin' besides
how he can be a great teammate, how he can be a great son,
how he can be a great brother to his little brother and little sister...
My son has played, like, six games into his freshman year,
and I haven't seen one.
Missing my son... I mean, I understand it's the business, but you know, it sucks.
For me to potentially have the opportunity to go watch
my son play tomorrow,
and also versus my alma mater...
it is a pretty surreal...
come-full-circle...
unbelievable thing.
No, really, no, look, look, look...
Kame... hame... ha!
[laughs]
[commentator] Welcome to Columbus, Ohio,
for what promises to be a special night.
LeBron James is here to watch his son Bronny
play a high school game in person for the first time.
Freshman Bronny and Sierra Canyon are here to face
his dad's alma mater, St. Vincent-St. Mary.
Five state championships.
This program has not disappeared
since LeBron graduated.
[Bronny] I just tried to calm myself.
All the attention, all the media around it...
I just tried to calm my nerves and take my mind off it.
- [crowd cheers] - [fan] Oh, my God!
[Bronny] I've been dealing with it for basically my whole life.
So it's kinda normal for me.
[Zaire] Leading up to that game,
we knew it was gonna be a lot of media attention.
But... when we got to the game...
we didn't know it was gonna be like that. [chuckles]
[crowd clamors]
[Big Boy] Can you imagine with Bronny,
people are expecting that that is the next LeBron James.
So already, it's hard enough for someone to say you're the next...
whoever it may be outside of your house.
But somebody's telling you that you are the next
LeBron James, and LeBron James is your dad.
It's different when it's the bloodline.
Because a lot of times, man, we don't see...
the kid's as great as the parent.
[commentator] And for a game like this, they needed it,
Nationwide Arena, home of the Columbus Blue Jackets in the NHL.
[Zaire] I just remember talking to him before the game
and just telling him, like, "Yo, this is you, kid.
You know, like, you gotta go out and get it."
I just know how special it is when I play in front of my pops
and my people, so I can only imagine how special that was.
[Nichols] What was it like walking in the building,
this place went crazy and you realized,
"I'm actually here, for the first time, getting to watch my son play."
I think I was a lot more nervous than my son.
[Nichols] You stayed so connected to St. V's.
You provided them with these uniforms that they're wearing
against your son tonight.
For us. This is for us.
We're built for this. We're built for this... right here, bruh.
[indistinct]
Hey, now, hey, turn me up on three! One, two, three...
[all] Turn me up!
[whistle blows]
[ethereal music]
[commentator] And he wants to run. Two on one here.
And Branham finishes the alley-oop.
Ramar Pryor finishes at the other end off the turnover by Frank.
[commentator 2] He's just as tough.
[commentator] Harris the floater, drops in.
Turnover by Sierra Canyon.
Branham the one out, and the bucket.
Three consecutive steals.
[whistle blows]
Sierra Canyon wants a timeout.
Andre Chevalier wants to talk about it with his team and stem the tide.
Our defense isn't happening.
They're getting whatever they want, whenever they want.
[buzzer sounds]
[whistle blows]
[Bronny] My buddy from Ohio said that if...
[chuckles] "If you don't play good, that you're canceled," so...
that gave me a little bit of motivation.
[intense music]
[crowd cheers]
Let's go!
[commentator] Here's Bronny James.
Oh, that was a beautiful scoop.
With the left hand, now 12 points for Bronny.
A runner from about 17 feet, and now Bronny's in double figures.
[Bronny] It's gonna sound crazy but, like,
once that starts happening, I just go into, like, a mode where I just...
I don't know, like, I can't hear nothin', really.
I don't really pay attention to it.
[commentator] Bailey, three-ball from the corner for Sierra Canyon.
Big shot.
Boston off the steal, he lays it in.
With 1:02 remaining, the Trailblazers are down by one.
[Bronny] Knowing that my dad is watching me,
when I score, it gives me a boost of adrenaline.
[voice] Bronny! Bronny!
[commentator] Oh, the deflection and the steal by Bronny James.
And the finger roll off the glass!
[euphoric music]
Bronny has given Sierra Canyon the lead.
[voice] End of the day... y'all come out like that on Sunday?
[buzzer sounds]
[voice] Y'all kept me out.
[commentator] Bronny James with the best performance
of his young high school career.
Back in the state of Ohio, with his dad looking on courtside.
And Sierra Canyon pulls it out, 59-56 against LeBron's alma mater,
St. Vincent-St. Mary.
Appreciate it.
- I love it, man. - He a good kid. He a good kid.
Hey, you turned your ankle on that steal didn't you, a little bit.
No, my knee buckled.
[LeBron] That knee buckle a little bit?
[Coach Dre] If I was a freshman like Bronny,
on a team that had to endure the media like, you know, we had to this year,
I don't know if I would have been able to handle it.
[Sandy Jones] Bronny is on, like, a whole 'nother universe.
And understanding his maturity, and his sense of self at his age...
you would think LeBron's kid would walk around
carrying himself like he's royalty, and he's the most normal kid in America.
He's so down to earth.
[fans screaming]
[all clap]
[all whoop]
No, we ain't done yet. Wait till we're done.
But I respect the fact that you guys dug,
dug deep, you fought. Right?
[somber music]