Bronny James has been discharged from hospital but will he play basketball again?
Basketball took a backseat earlier this week when the promising USC freshmen suffered a cardiac arrest. Thankfully, he’s now back home with his family.
The son of the NBA’s all-time scoring leader has understandably had eyes on him for quite some time, but earlier this week it was for a terrible reason. Though his continued recovery is the only thing that matters, many question whether he will be able to play basketball again.
Bronny James is back at home
According to a statement from his cardiologist, Dr. Merje Chukumerije, USC freshman Bronny James has been discharged from the hospital and is now resting at home, following the cardiac arrest that he suffered on Monday. James, who is the son of Lakers star LeBron James, was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance on Monday morning after collapsing during practice at USC. Immediately after his arrival at Cedars-Sinai Medical Cente, James was placed into intensive care, however, he was later removed from the unit after he was stabilized as per a family spokesperson.
Speaking on Thursday, Chukumerije also added that his staff is “hopeful for his continued progress,” before acknowledging the efforts of USC’s medical staff. “Thanks to the swift and effective response by the USC athletics’ medical staff, Bronny James was successfully treated for a sudden cardiac arrest,” Chukumerije said. “He arrived at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center fully conscious, neurologically intact, and stable. Mr. James was cared for promptly by highly-trained staff and has been discharged home, where he is resting. Although his workup will be ongoing, we are hopeful for his continued progress and are encouraged by his response, resilience, and his family and community support.”
What has LeBron James said?
Earlier Thursday, LeBron James thanked his fans for the support he and Bronny have received since news of the horrible ordeal went public. “I want to thank the countless people sending my family love and prayers,” LeBron James tweeted. “We feel you and I’m so grateful. Everyone doing great. We have our family together, safe and healthy, and we feel your love. Will have more to say when we’re ready but I wanted to tell everyone how much your support has meant to all of us!”
So, will Bronny James play basketball again?
For the purpose of context, it’s worth noting that Bronny James is the second-highest-ranked freshman in USC’s top-five signing class behind five-star Isaiah Collier. A four-star prospect himself, Bronny was set to stick close to home by committing to USC despite interest from both Ohio State and Oregon. As for whether he will play for the Trojans this season and beyond, that remains unclear. What we can say is that it’s highly unlikely that he’ll be with the team when it travels overseas in mid-august to play a series. For the moment all we can do is keep the younger James in our thoughts, hope he fully recovers, and as always continue to watch this space.