College Basketball

Bronny James discharged from hospital as he recovers from cardiac arrest

Updated Jul. 27, 2023 5:34 p.m. ET

College Basketball Broadcaster and Reporter

Bronny James is at home resting and his medical team is encouraged by the USC freshman's response after he endured a sudden cardiac arrest at practice on Monday in Los Angeles.

The 18-year-old son of LeBron James, Bronny was treated by the university's athletics medical staff and arrived at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center "fully conscious, neurologically intact and stable," Dr. Merije Chukumerije said in a statement issued on Thursday afternoon.

"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," Chukumerije, who is James' consulting cardiologist from Cedars-Sinai, added in the statement.

The statement also credited USC for a "swift and effective response" to the incident on Monday. This marks the second straight summer that a USC freshman men's basketball player has suffered a significant cardiac incident. On July 1 of 2022, 7-foot-1 center Vincent Iwuchukwu suffered major heart failure and collapsed during a Trojans practice. He was hospitalized for a few days and returned to play in 14 games in the 2022-23 season.

LeBron James also posted an encouraging update on Thursday, stating that he and his family were safe and healthy and expressing gratitude for the love and prayers that they have received in the last 72 hours.

Bronny James' younger brother, Bryce, also shared a message of support late Tuesday, posting an image of the two of them together with a heart emoji in an Instagram story.

As for James' road to recovery, situations like these call for case-by-case protocol depending on how an athlete responds.

Bronny James, who was ranked No. 22 in the 247 Sports freshman class rankings, chose the Trojans over Ohio State and Oregon, electing to stay close to his father for his college career. This move helped USC rise into the top 15 in my FOX College Hoops power rankings.

[John Fanta's college basketball power rankings]

The 6-foot-3 guard's stock rose after a quality showing at the recent Nike Hoops Summit and his progress while at Sierra Canyon. His pledge to USC vaulted the program's incoming recruiting class as a top-30 unit nationally, as it also includes No. 1 overall recruit Isaiah Collier and top-50 big man Arrinten Page.

John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him on Twitter at @John_Fanta.

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