USC Basketball: Bronny James 'Grateful' for Cardiac Arrest Experience

The one-and-done Trojan explained his current feelings around the scary moment.

May 15, 2024; Chicago, IL, USA; Bronny James (50) takes a shot during the 2024 NBA Draft Combine at Wintrust Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports / David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Now-former USC Trojans combo guard Bronny James' sole college season got off to a scary start. The 6-foot-4 Sierra Canyon School product suffered a cardiac arrest on the morning of July 24, during a preseason workout at the Galen Center.

James fell on the hardwood, losing consciousness, and attendant trainers had to electrify his heart back into movement with a defibrillator, writes Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. Upon resuscitation, James was back to jockeying with teammates fairly quickly — while waiting to go to the hospital. His cardiologist noted that James was “neurologically intact and stable" when he eventually got to the hospital that day.

“I still think about everything that could happen,” Bronny said.

Woike notes that James had a corrective surgery to address what was eventually diagnosed as a congenital heart defect, the root cause of the cardiac arrest. He's been cleared by NBA doctors to compete for a spot in the league, and is expected to be selected at some point in the second round of the draft later this month.

“It’s still lingering,” James said of his fears surrounding his heart health.

James added, however, that the experience helped him re-frame his opportunity to continue to compete at the highest basketball level.

“It’s just, it’s just a great thing to happen to me in terms of just being grateful for everything and stuff like that,” James offered. “I put in the work and stuff like that to get back. So I feel like I’ve earned the opportunity.”

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