Growing up in the Bay Area, Brandon McCoy Jr. spent most of his time directly after school in a multi-sports complex tucked along the coastline of Alameda Island. The Bladium Sports & Fitness Club served as one of his earliest introductions to the game, where a young Beezy, as his family and close friends call him, developed his relationship with hoops alongside flag football, soccer and baseball. 

Elementary school was filled with the joy that came from a myriad of sports. But after watching his older cousin’s middle school team streak up and down the court, Brandon turned to his pops with a simple request: I want to play.

From there, Brandon McCoy Sr. connected his son with a trainer. And by the time he was 9, his travel team was heading to Nike Nationals. 

“Our team, we got second place,” Brandon tells SLAM. “And then after, some rankings came out and I saw my name pretty high up on there. And I was like, Yo, I actually might be pretty good. And then after that, [I] just kept working hard. Because of my pops, I always feel like I trained hard. I played hard and started playing really good, and then kind of just fell in love with it.

“And it wasn’t about anything else but just the love of the game. Like, it wasn’t anything that came with it. I just genuinely enjoyed playing.” 

That authentic kinship with the rock is what’s led to the Oakland native blossoming and cementing himself as a top-15 player in the Class of 2026 (ranked at No. 14 by 247 Sports). It’s resulted in a McDonald’s All-American nod, three FIBA gold medals and leading the best team in California in scoring. Last summer, he was tearing down rims at Rucker Park at the SLAM Summer Classic. And by the fall, he was named one of Nike’s newest NIL athletes.

Between his parents’ constantly displaying an inspiring work ethic and his own desire to get better, a unique blend of fortitude and will was developed, spearheaded by a curiosity to try everything. And eventually master it. 

“From what I can remember, when I was younger, I was doing pretty much everything. I had a real skill set, I’m not even gonna lie,” Brandon says.

Off-hand layups were fluid before he even turned 10. During workouts, his trainers would run him through a gauntlet, shifting between advanced ballhandling, conditioning and shot-creation drills. He’d sprint from one corner three to the other, developing his jumper to push past moments when his lungs, legs and arms ached. And as he grew, so did the intensity of his sessions in the lab. But it was the 24 Hour Fitness near his childhood home that showed a young Beezy everything he needed to know about his game.

“To be honest, one of the main reasons I think I’m where I’m at now, I don’t know if I should say this, but I was sneaking into 24 Hour Fitness as a young kid and playing five-on-five and four-on-four with, like, grown men,” Brandon says. “And once I started [seeing] myself really killing them, then it just, it was like, Yeah, I can really do something with this.”

Most chronically ill hoopers know the general guidelines at the local 24. Minors need to be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. Beezy pulled up with neither. Just an unyielding passion to play and test his game. “Seeing myself be able to compete with grown men at a young age and then after the game, [them] tell me like, I’m like really good and stuff. It’s just…gradually, I just knew,” Brandon says.

In his senior year at Sierra Canyon, Brandon has the Trail Blazers marching toward the CIF State Title, sitting at 26-1 as the No. 3-ranked team in the country. His 19.2 points and 7.4 boards a game come from every inch of the hardwood. His season debut in November saw him soar to the rim for nine emphatic dunks and 25 total points. In late December, he led Sierra to win the Les Schwab Invitational, being named tournament MVP after posting 21 points, 7 rebounds and 6 steals. And at Hoophall in January, he dropped 24, 10 and 3 on Columbus.  

“I wanted to be able to show I can fill up the stat sheet in every category, and it equates to winning. And I feel like I’ve been proving that,” Brandon says when asked where he wanted to take his game this season. “I’m on the No. 1 team in California and I’m leading the team in every stat, offensive and defensive. So I feel like I’ve been doing a really good job, holding myself to a higher standard. I feel like the work I put in is paying off.”

Two-a-days have been routine for years, and that’s not including his daily high school practice. The hours Brandon logs are of his own accord. In his final high school season before he heads off to college, Brandon and his parents have been analyzing his school schedule for any gaps he has to fit some extra work into. 

“Whenever I have a gap, I’m already texting my trainer, telling them, We can go get some work in. And even after practice, I’ll stay ’til pretty much everyone will be gone already and I’ll stay and get some work in. I don’t want to [be] overkill, but I feel like I do a lot, which has been shown off. But anytime I have a chance to work out, I’m taking it for sure.”

The work bank sees a daily deposit without fail. And in turn, Beezy’s confidence in his game is stronger than E-40’s Yay Area accent. And for as hard as he’s been working, Brandon turned the energy up in his workout schedule even more in the 2025-26 campaign. He’s focused on fine-tuning everything, from his advanced touch around the rim to getting to his spots with ease in the midrange. So all those hours I spend in the gym, I get into the games and that’s my work,” Brandon says.

“My goal is to be able [to have] people watch me [and be] like, Oh, yeah, that’s the best player,” he continues. “Like, That’s a pro in high school. And that’s just the main thing I’m working on, because you always hear there’s a good high schooler at a random school, but you don’t hear a lot of people say, Oh, that’s for sure a pro. That’s just what I’m aiming for right now.”

In the meantime, a number of top collegiate programs are anxiously awaiting to see if the No. 2 ranked shooting guard in the nation will be bringing his unmatched work ethic to their program. But Beezy’s just focused on ending his senior season on a high note, with the CIF State Title trophy in his hands. 

In late February, he took one step closer, bringing the CIF Open Division title back to Sierra Canyon.

“As a basketball player, I want to be remembered as an elite winner who was just dominant. I feel dominant. That word expresses a lot and in just one word. And then off the court, respectful, kind, caring, trustworthy. I feel like those are all good character traits. I was raised right and I’ve been living by those for my whole life,” Brandon says. “So just on and off the court, [I just want to be] dominant and someone people can look up to and model their life after.”

Photos by Moy Garduno.