Bronny James has completed the comeback, and his dad could not have been more proud.
The freshman made his collegiate debut in USC’s loss to Long Beach State. But for James, it wasn’t about the game’s result. It marked his return to basketball five months after his athletic career was almost taken away for good, having suffered cardiac arrest in late July.
LeBron James made sure to sit court side for his son’s first college game and return to basketball. After the game, the NBA legend posted about his son on Instagram with an emotional message dedicated to the past few months and Bronny’s fight to stay alive.
“You’ve already won the ultimate goal/championship and that’s LIFE!!! Proud of you kid and today you’ve given me more life!” he wrote.
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James went into cardiac arrest late July during a team workout. He was taken to a hospital, where he spent three days in the ICU before being released after it was determined he has a congenital heart defect.
It was impossible for him to return by the start of the season, but even returning for USC’s ninth game was unanticipated. He now wears a heart monitoring device on his arm to track his heart rate in case of irregularities, which James has yet to have.
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James came off the bench for 17 minutes and recorded four points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block.