The LeBron James shows is coming to Tucson.

Bryce James, LeBron’s younger son, committed to the Arizona Wildcats on New Year’s Day, making the announcement on social media.

In an interesting twist, James made the announcement as Arizona’s rival, Arizona State, was getting ready to kick off vs. Texas in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals. Savvy timing by the young James.

A four-star prospect out of Sierra Canyon High School in Southern California, the 6-foot-4, 190-pound guard had offers from Ohio State and Duquesne. The 17-year-old James recently took an unofficial visit to Arizona.

Bryce’s older brother, Bronny, is a rookie for the Los Angeles Lakers. He was taken with the No. 55 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft after playing one season at USC.

Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd has a track record of developing players — especially guards — both at Arizona and previously at Gonzaga. James will need time to develop, according to 247Sports Director of Scouting Adam Finkelstein.

“Bryce needs to be given time and space to run his own race,” Finkelstein wrote. “He may not be the dynamic athlete or playmaker some expect at first, but he is a fundamentally sound player with solid perimeter size and a good early skill-set.”

James is the second commitment for Lloyd in the class of 2025, joining Dwayne Aristode, a 5-star wing who signed with Arizona in November. The Wildcats are also recruiting 5-star guard Brayden Burries and 5-star forward Koa Peat. Burries plays with James at Sierra Canyon and Peat plays at Perry High School in the Phoenix suburb of Gilbert.

Here are some recent highlights of James:

Cam Skattebo put Arizona State football on his back in the Peach Bowl, but his heroic efforts were not enough. 

The Texas Longhorns defeated the Sun Devils 39-31 in double overtime on Wednesday in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal in Atlanta. Things looked dire for Arizona State in the fourth quarter as the Sun Devils trailed by as many as 16 points and their star running back appeared to be struggling on the sidelines.

The ESPN broadcast showed Skattebo battling fatigue on the bench. The network reported that Skattebo was trying to get in more fluids and catch his breath after he was “vomiting profusely” on the sidelines, leaving his health status for the remainder of the game up in the air.

Skattebo not only reentered the game, but he led a comeback to force overtime.

TEXAS VS. ARIZONA STATE: Live score updates, highlights, how to watch CFP quarterfinal game

Despite looking visibly exhausted, Skattebo checked back into the game and helped the Sun Devils score 16 unanswered points. Skattebo connected with WR Malik McClain for a 42-yard touchdown pass to cut the Longhorns’ lead to 24-16 with 6:31 remaining in the game. Following Arizona State’s interception of Texas QB Quinn Ewers the next possession, Skattebo rushed for a two-yard touchdown and then successfully converted a two-point conversion to tie the game 24-24 with 5:00 minutes remaining in the game. The Peach Bowl eventually went to overtime following Texas’ missed field goal that would have won the game.

In overtime, Skattebo gave the Sun Devils the lead on a three-yard touchdown run, but Texas answered back with two straight touchdowns to take the lead 39-31. Arizona State was unable to score on their next OT possession to give Texas the win.

Skattebo finished the game with 30 carries for 143 yards and two touchdowns, in addition to one 42-yard passing touchdown for a touchdown and eight receptions for 99 receiving yards.

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Arizona’s minimum wage is going up again.

Workers at the bottom of the pay scale will earn 35 cents an hour more starting Jan. 1, 2025, with a new level of $14.70 an hour compared with $14.35 in 2024.

Arizona’s minimum wage has climbed more than 80% since voters passed Proposition 206 in 2016, when the minimum stood at $8.05 an hour.

Arizona has one of the highest minimums in the nation, though the state still ranks near the bottom for overall incomes, despite a rising cost of living and a low unemployment rate.

Is Arizona’s minimum wage going up in 2025?

The Arizona statewide minimum wage increases to $14.70 an hour in 2025. The rise of 35 cents an hour reflects a cost of living boost of 2.4%. Under state law, Arizona adjusts its minimum wage once a year to reflect inflation.

The new minimum-wage rate is equivalent to $30,576 in annual pay, based on a full year of employment and a 40-hour workweek. That will rise from $29,848 in 2024.

All that stems from Proposition 206, which was approved by voters in 2016, when Arizona’s minimum wage stood at $8.05 an hour.

Who enforces Arizona’s minimum wage? Where can I make a complaint?

The Industrial Commission of Arizona oversees and enforces the wage law, along with that for sick time.

The commission’s Minimum Wage Claim Form is used for complaints related to wages that were paid below the current minimum wage. It can be submitted electronically, by fax or by U.S. mail.

How many people earn minimum wage in Arizona?

Relatively few people earn the minimum — only around 3% of Arizonans, according to one study by the Economic Policy Institute, which advocates for higher wages.

Are there exceptions to the new Arizona minimum wage?

Yes. For example, employers can pay tipped workers up to $3 an hour less, and the minimum wage doesn’t apply in several other situations such as for babysitters, people working for a parent or sibling and those employed by various small businesses, along with those working for the state itself or the federal government.

What about minimum wage in Flagstaff?

Flagstaff has a higher minimum wage than the state. The current minimum bumps up to $17.85 from $17.40 on Jan. 1, 2025.

How has the minimum wage risen in Arizona?

Arizona’s minimum has climbed more than 80% since voters passed Proposition 206 in 2016, when the minimum stood at $8.05 an hour. The measure sanctioned yearly increases reflecting inflation.

An especially big bump of $1 an hour happened in 2020, rising to $12 from $11 in 2019, and another large increase of $1.05 an hour came from 2022 to 2023.

Where does Arizona rank in terms of minimum wage?

Arizona’s minimum wage, which currently ranks 11th highest in the nation, compared with a federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour that still applies in roughly 20 states.

Despite the upcoming New Year’s Day increase, Arizona will drop to 16th place in 2025, with several other states boosting their minimums. Washington, D.C., will top the list at $17.50 an hour in 2025, followed by Washington state ($16.66), California ($16.50) and the New York City area ($16.50), according to Paycom.

What states have the lowest minimum wage?

There is no one state with the lowest minimum wage, as many states default to the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act, which has a minimum wage of $7.25.

States that have a $7.25 minimum wage include:

• Alabama
• Georgia
• Idaho
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Mississippi
• New Hampshire
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Oklahoma
• Pennsylvania
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming

What states are raising the minimum wage?

These 23 states are raising the minimum wage effective Jan. 1, 2025:

• Alaska: $11.73 raising to $11.91
• Arizona: $14.35 raising to $14.70
• California: $16 raising to $16.50
• Colorado: $14.42 raising to $14.81
• Connecticut: $15.69 raising to $16.35
• Delaware: $13.25 raising to $15
• Illinois: $14 raising to $15
• Maine: $14.15 raising to $14.65
• Michigan: $10.33 raising to $10.56
• Minnesota: large and small employers raising to $11.13
• Missouri: $12.30 raising to $13.75
• Montana: $10.30 raising to $10.55
• Nebraska: $12 raising to $13.50
• New Jersey: $15.13 raising to $15.49
• New York (upstate): $15 raising to $15.50
• New York: $16 raising to $16.50
• Ohio: $10.45 raising to $10.70
• Rhode Island: $14 raising to $15
• South Dakota: $11.20 raising to $11.50
• Vermont: $13.67 raising to $14.01
• Virginia: $12 raising to $12.41
• Washington: $16.28 raising to $16.66

How has Arizona fared in terms of employment?

Both Arizona and metro Phoenix have been adding jobs and feature relatively low unemployment rates. The Arizona unemployment rate as of November stood at 3.7%, below the U.S. average of 4.2%. Arizona also generated a net 31,600 new jobs for the 12 months through November, continuing a cycle of growth.

The jobless number was better in metro Phoenix, with a 3.5% unemployment rate in November. Metro Phoenix accounts for about 72% of all employment in the state.

What about overall incomes by state?

A from payroll processor ADP showed median pay in Arizona at $52,700 as of October, well below the national median of $59,200. Arizona ranked 41st overall in median pay but ahead of several neighboring states including Utah ($52,100, 44th place), Nevada ($50,500, 47th place) and last-place New Mexico at $40,200.

Washington, D.C., led the nation with median pay of $100,400, according to the ADP report, which was based on millions of payroll transactions. Massachusetts was second at $75,800 and Alaska third at $69,600.

Might now be a good time to look for a new job?

That depends on many factors, including the occupation and industry that you’re targeting and the availability of benefits.

But one theme from the ADP report indicates that it often pays to job hop. According to the company’s report, median national pay for people who stayed put in their positions rose 4.8% over the past year, but job changers realized an average increase of 7.2%.