Bronny James, the 18-year-old son of LeBron James and a freshman on the USC men’s basketball team, suffered cardiac arrest at the Trojans practice on Monday and is now in stable condition, the James family said in a statement Tuesday morning.
The four-star recruit collapsed on the court during practice and was taken to the hospital, where he was checked into the intensive care unit.
“We ask for respect and privacy for the James family and we will update media when there is more information,” the James family said in a statement issued Tuesday morning. “LeBron and Savannah wish to publicly send their deepest thanks and appreciation to the USC medical and athletic staff for their incredible work and dedication to the safety of their athletes.”
This marks the second straight summer that a USC freshman men’s basketball player has suffered a significant cardiac incident. On July 1 of 2022, 7-foot-1 center Vincent Iwuchukwu suffered major heart failure and collapsed during a Trojans practice. He was hospitalized for a few days and played just 14 games in the 2022-23 season.
James, ranked No. 22 in the 247 Sports freshman class rankings, chose the Trojans over Ohio State and Oregon, electing to stay close to his father for his college career. This move helped USC rise into the top 15 in my FOX College Hoops power rankings.
The 6-foot-3 guard’s stock rose after a quality showing at the recent Nike Hoops Summit and his progress while at Sierra Canyon. His pledge to USC vaulted the program’s incoming recruiting class as a top-30 unit nationally, as it also includes No. 1 overall recruit Isaiah Collier and top-50 big man Arrinten Page.
