Bronny James, the first and prodigal son of LeBron James had a scary incident yesterday at a practice for his new college the University of Southern California. James a 6 foot 3 inch guard, collapsed on the court in the middle of practice to general panic.
The incident reportedly occurred around Monday at 9:30 AM Pacific Time. Bronny was immediately tended to by USC medical staff. They were able to keep the youngster out of harm’s way and was later rushed to the hospital to be placed in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). It seems to have been quite serious as a 911 call was made for the ambulance, indicating a deeper issue.
Bronny was placed in the ICU for a few hours and after analyzing, the doctors concluded that the collapse was caused by a cardiac arrest. Athletes and young ones, in general, are susceptible to it, albeit on rare occasions.
USC All-American Bronny James collapsed on the court Monday and had a cardiac arrest. He was taken to the hospital and is now in stable condition and no longer in the ICU. Statement: pic.twitter.com/5z9F2qAWP0
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 25, 2023
James has been reported as stable while his mother and father have asked for media privacy in these trying times. The question on everyone’s mind besides the safety of Bronny’s life, is how this event may affect his later ventures in sport.
Vince Iwuchukwu suffered a cardiac arrest at USC training last year similar to Bronny James
Unfortunately, it seems that this isn’t the first time this exact situation has arisen at the University of Southern California. Former five-star big man Vince Iwuchukwu suffered a cardiac arrest last summer during an informal team practice.
Vince Iwuchukwu, like Bronny James, suffered cardiac arrest at USC in July. However, the news of his cardiac arrest was revealed in late September. Iwuchukwu played in 14 games last season after being withheld following his health scare and was cleared to play in January.
Iwuchukwu was able to return to practices late in 2022. He was then medically cleared to play on January 12, 2023, for a game against Colorado. He did, however, play only five minutes in that game. USC was appropriately cautious with Iwuchukwu’s minutes. He played only six minutes in his next game against Utah on January 14.
After ample rest and a drawn-out recovery period, Vince was able to return to the hardwood, although slightly hindered in his play. The general opinion is that it was a one-off attack and there is no deeper issue. But the same can’t be said for Bronny until more extensive testing is done by doctors. Hopefully, this event may serve as a beacon for athletes around the world to look closer into their overall health.