Just four months after receiving a heart issue diagnosis, LeBron James announced his desire to skip a Lakers game in order to witness his eldest son Bronny’s collegiate basketball debut for USC.
‘I already informed my guys that if they’re playing on the same day we’re playing, then I’m going to catch them the following game,’ the 38-year-old James told ESPN on the same day as L.A.’s disastrоus loss to the OKC Thunder.
“Family comes first.”
The James family considers Bronny’s approval to play basketball again “the best Christmas present the family could ask for,” according to an exclusive report by DailyMail.com.
The NBA’s all-time greatest scorer has always been open about his desire to play in the league, either with or against his son. Shortly after experiencing a cardiac arrest in July while working out at the Galen Center, 19-year-old Bronny was determined to have a curable congenital heart defect.
A college debut is imminent for Bronny, a first-year student at the University of Southern California. The son of James will have a final evaluation with USC officials this week, according to a statement released by the family on Thursday. Practice will continue next week, the spokesperson added.
‘Soon after,’ it stated, he will be eligible to participate in games.
After practice on Thursday, coach Andy Enfield expressed his joy that the player had been cleared by cardiac specialists. “Now it’s a matter of getting him back on the court next week hopefully to begin working out with the team full contact,” Enfield added.
On Wednesday night, Bronny sat on the bench with the rest of his teammates until the second half of their 106-78 thrashing of Eastern Washingtоn, and he didn’t even take part in pregame warmups. During timeouts, he stood at the back of the huddle and smiled and joked with the other reserves.
No. 11 Gonzaga takes on No. 5 Troy (5-2) in Saturday’s Las Vegas match. James may be able to attend the debut of his namesake son on December 10—the day of their next home game versus Long Beach State—since the Los Angeles Lakers are off that day. Following that, the Trojans will play their next four games away from home.
“That’s not my call, and I think it’s premature to make any assumptions,” Enfield stated. “We’ll be patient with him because he’s been out of basketball for a while. Once we get the green light, we’ll get him into games.”
Our excitement is palpable, but it will only grow when he joins us on the court, according to leading scorer Boogie Ellis. “That’s certainly something we’re not having.”
Although Bronny is going to be a great asset to USC’s rotation, he will require some time to adjust to playing in games. Twice in the past two weeks, he has participated in pregame warmups, during which he has watched his teammates and done some rebounding and shooting. He has also attended practices.
Former high school teammate and forward Kijani Wright expressed the team’s eagerness to see James return. “Just add more fire; it’ll be another guard component we have.”
Teammate Vincent Iwuchukwu is the perfect role model for Bronny. The heart arrest occurred in July 2022 for the 7-foot-1 sophomore. Last December, he started light practice and debuted in January. Last year, he saw action in 14 games and recorded 5.4 points and 2.5 rebounds per game on average.
On Wednesday night, Iwuchukwu stood out as the standout bench player, contributing 13 points, 6 boards, and 2 blocks.
Similar to his father, Bronny was an All-American for McDonald’s. While considering his options, the 6-foot-3 guard from Chatsworth, Los Angeles’ Sierra Canyon School, decided to stay close to home and attend USC.