Bronny James warmed up with his USC teammates prior to their 81-70 victory over the Brown Bears on Sunday. The warmup was Bronny’s first since he suffered a cardiac arrest during a team workout in July.
The 19-year-old point guard, the son of Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, is still waiting to make his college debut. But the fact that he was back on the court just months after a near-fatal experience was a huge step.
“It’s awesome having him back and on the team with us and participating with us,” teammate Kobe Johnson said after the game, per ESPN. “We want him back as soon as possible, but we want him to be as healthy as possible when he comes back. Every day we pray that he keeps getting better and hopefully sometime this year he’s able to get on the floor with us.”
Bronny underwent successful surgery to repair what was described by the James family as a congenital heart defect after he collapsed in that July scrimmage. He’d done individual work before games, though Sunday’s fixture was the first in which he participated in warmups.
“It was great. He went through warmups with the team. He’s a big part of our program and our team. He’s a terrific teammate,” Trojans head coach Andy Enfield said. “We look forward to hopefully one day getting him back on the court, but when that day is, that’s not my decision. We’re going to be patient and go through the process.”
LeBron told reporters in early November that Bronny would be back with the team as long as he passed a medical examination later in the month.
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“Today’s game was the first game he got an opportunity to warm up with his team,” the four-time MVP said. “So, he’s almost there. … He’s almost there.”
