About four months after he went into cardiac arrest, Bronny James, the son of Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, has been cleared to start his freshman year of college basketball.
He committed to play at the University of Southern California months ago, and he could help what is already a strong Trojans team become that much more competitive. While the Trojans have never won an NCAA championship, the University of California, Los Angeles Bruins, the Trojans’ huge crosstown rivals, have won the national championship 11 times.
The elder James commented on the recovery of his son, and he indicated that if his son’s first game conflicts with a Lakers game, he would skip that Lakers game to see his son play.
“I definitely gotta see Bronny’s first college game whenever he’s cleared and ready to go.” LeBron James let #Lakers fans know he'll be out of the office for Bronny's debut. pic.twitter.com/kCBf9Ut0TJ
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) December 1, 2023
LeBron on Bronny James’ impending return to college basketball: “It’s exciting. I’m looking forward to his first game. … I already told my [Lakers] teammates that if they’re playing on the same day we’re playing then I’m going to catch them the next game. Family over everything”
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) December 1, 2023
The younger James likely will not play for a little while. It would make sense for him to require multiple full practices and workouts to build chemistry with his teammates and get into basketball shape.
Both the Trojans and Lakers are scheduled to play on Dec. 28, Dec. 30, Jan. 3, Jan. 13 and Jan. 17. The Lakers are sputtering with an 11-9 record and have been unable to get or stay healthy, so the elder James skipping a game to see the younger James run with the Trojans may not be a good idea as far as the Purple and Gold are concerned.