Four months after he suffered a cardiac arrest during practice, Bronny James has been cleared to fully return to basketball, a spokesman for the James family said Thursday, announcing a plan for the USC freshman to start playing as early as next week Training should begin.
“Bronny will conduct a final evaluation with USC staff this week, resume practice next week and return to games soon after,” the James family spokesman said.
Bronny, the son of Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, collapsed during a practice in July and spent three days in a hospital. Doctors later determined that a congenital heart defect was the likely cause of the 19-year-old security guard’s sudden collapse and expressed confidence that he would make a full recovery.
Ultimately, the only thing that matters in all of this is the recovery itself. That a 19-year-old, after the frightening experience of having his heart stop pumping blood, is healthy enough and has a strong heart to play the game, that he loves.
If it just could be that easy. That’s not the case because Bronny James is no ordinary teenager. He’s the son of LeBron, who, at least by his own father’s hopes and dreams, is already destined to one day very soon team up with Pops in the ultimate father-son NBA deal.
That means now we’re leaving the waiting game and heading to the circus. First comes the Bronny Watch – an analysis of the Trojans’ schedule to see when he can play. The Trojans are at No. 11 Gonzaga on Saturday and have just one home game left in the calendar year – against Long Beach State on Dec. 10. They take road trips to Alabama and Oregon State before returning home on Jan. 3 against Cal.
After that, of course, comes the inevitable Bronny meltdown. What will he look like? Can he play? Does he live up to expectations, impossible as they are?
James’ arrival in college basketball was always going to be a turning point. Long before he committed to USC, many wondered whether he was good enough to deserve the attention he received. But a strong senior season (he averaged 14 points and five boards at powerhouse Sierra Canyon) catapulted him to 22nd in the 247Sports Composite rankings and eliminated any lingering questions about whether his last name meant he lived up to his own hype didn’t deserve it.
According to a family spokesman, Bronny James will return to training next week and games soon after. (Photo: Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images)
Along with USC, he visited Ohio State, Oregon, and considered the G-League Ignite and Overtime Elite leagues before deciding to stay close to home and sign with the Trojans.
But by choosing Andy Enfield’s team, the combo guard joined a roster that already had a solid backcourt thanks to Isaiah Collier, the consensus No. 1 freshman in the nation, and Boogie Ellis, the top returning prospect Trojans scorers. People naturally wondered how James would fit in.
However, all of that speculation came to an abrupt end on July 24 when James collapsed during a summer training session. The James family announced that Bronny was admitted to Cedars Sinai Hospital. He underwent surgery to treat the congenital heart defect and the question immediately shifted from how well he could play to whether he could ever play again.
LeBron James gave an update on his son’s progress in October, saying that Bronny had “begun his rehab process to get back on the floor with his teammates at USC this season.” A month later, on November 19, he warmed up with his teammates for the first time before a game against Brown, sparking speculation that he would return soon.
Now it’s time for Bronny.
He joins a USC team that, like much of college basketball in November, is a work in progress. The Trojans were picked to finish second in the Pac-12 and are 5-2, with losses to UC Irvine and Oklahoma.
(Photo: Brian Rothmuller / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)