LOS ANGELES — The family of Bronny James, the hospital and the university made no new public comments about his health on Wednesday (Thursday, Manila time), two days after the 18-year-old son of NBA superstar LeBron James went into cardiac arrest during a basketball practice with his team at the University of Southern California.
LeBron James was spotted by photographers entering Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where Bronny James is being treated after the incident Monday morning at USC's campus arena.
Bronny James in stable condition
Bronny James was in stable condition Tuesday, and patients who experience an unlikely cardiac arrest often undergo numerous tests over multiple days to determine the cause. He spent only a brief time in intensive care — a positive sign for his long-term recovery from the frightening episode.
Bronny's 16-year-old brother, Bryce, posted a photo of the two on his Instagram story, along with a heart. Bryce James is also a top basketball prospect who already has received Division I scholarship offers.
It's too soon to know how Bronny's episode will affect his basketball career, since it largely depends on the underlying causes of the cardiac arrest. LeBron James has been an active supporter of his two sons' basketball dreams, even using his off days during the Los Angeles Lakers' season to fly several hours to attend their games.
LeBron James has repeatedly said that he even hopes to play in the NBA with Bronny, who couldn't join the league until the fall of 2024 at the earliest. LeBron would be entering his 22nd NBA season at that point — matching Vince Carter for the longest career in league history — with his 40th birthday looming in December 2024.
"My last year will be played with my son," James said. "Wherever Bronny is at, that's where I'll be. I would do whatever it takes to play with my son for one year."
LeBron James has slightly downplayed that determination more recently: After he broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's career scoring record last February, he acknowledged that playing alongside his son in the NBA is his dream, but might not be Bronny's dream. LeBron also said he would support whatever Bronny decided to do with his life.
Bronny carving own path
LeBron and his high school sweetheart, Savannah Brinson, were still teenagers when they welcomed their first child a few months after James won the NBA's Rookie of the Year award with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
They named him LeBron James Jr., but everyone soon called him Bronny.
Now 18 himself, Bronny James had nothing like the hardscrabble childhood of his father, the only child of a single mother in Akron, Ohio. Along with wealth and celebrity, Bronny grew up with two loving, involved parents and two younger siblings who formed a tight-knit family unit — dubbed "The James Gang" by its patriarch — as they moved from Cleveland to Miami to Cleveland to Los Angeles.
The scion of the top scorer in NBA history embraced his father's sport, and he has thrived while earning accolades and opportunities far beyond any special treatment he might have received because of his famous name. He was a heavily recruited player at an elite Los Angeles high school, and he chose the University of Southern California two months ago for the next step in a career likely to extend to the NBA.
James' combination of his famous name and his own basketball skills have made him one of the most influential teenagers in American sports. He is a social media star with 7.5 million followers on Instagram, and that potential earning power gives him the top name, image and likeness valuation in sports at $6.3 million, as estimated by On3.com.
Bronny James has rarely given interviews, per his father's wishes, and his infrequent social media posts are either guarded, as befits the child of a massive celebrity, or sponsored content. They also show a happy high school student who enjoys video games and family time, but also looks forward to attending college.
Three months after LeBron James broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's career NBA scoring record with the Los Angeles Lakers in February 2023, Bronny announced he would attend USC. He would stay near home, just two miles down Figueroa Boulevard from the Lakers' downtown arena, but far enough to establish his independence while building his basketball skills for a shot at a lasting career in the NBA.
LeBron was overjoyed when his son chose to spend next year in college instead of an NBA preparatory professional team. While he said he wasn't sure about some of his great-grandparents, James was reasonably sure Bronny would be the first person in their family lineage to attend a university.
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