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What happened to Lakers rookie?

Vaseline October 19, 2024

Bronny James made history with his father, LeBron James, during the NBA preseason. They are teammates with the Los Angeles Lakers after the franchise used a second-round pick on Bronny James in the 2024 NBA draft and on Oct. 6 became the first father-son duo to play together in an NBA game.

But the start of the 2024/25 regular season also marks a new milestone in the recovery for Bronny James. He is just 15 months removed from suffering cardiac arrest during a practice last July, and the incident still affects him now as an NBA rookie.

“My days are not normal anymore,” Bronny James said in a cover story for Men’s Health magazine. “I still feel like I’m coming back, that I’m going back to where I was.”

So what happened to the eldest of LeBron James’ three children? With Bronny James set to make his regular season debut with the Lakers as early as next week’s opener, here’s what you need to know about the life-threatening medical scare that makes his arrival in the NBA all the more remarkable:

BEHIND THE SCENES: What will Bronny James call LeBron on the basketball court? It won’t be ‘Daddy’

Bronny James cardiac arrest: what happened?

Bronny James suffered cardiac arrest during USC’s offseason training on July 24, 2023, and was hospitalized in Los Angeles for three days.

The James family announced on August 25 that doctors had determined that Bronny James’ cardiac arrest was caused by a congenital heart defect. LeBron James later told reporters that his son underwent surgery after being diagnosed. The family said Bronny James was cleared to resume basketball on Nov. 30 and made his USC debut on Dec. 10.

In a scene from the Netflix docuseries “Starting Five,” released earlier this month, LeBron James is shown in the USC locker room taking a photo with the staff member he says performed CPR on his son when he went into cardiac arrest got. James called her a “lifesaver.”

“They are the reason Bronny is alive today and laughing and thriving and doing what every 19-year-old should do, which is living their dream,” James said.

“It’s funny with kids, if they love something and want something, that’s all that matters to them. As a parent you think: ‘You’ve had cardiac arrest.’ In his mind he says, ‘Can I play ball again or not?’ And if the answer is yes: ‘When can I play ball again?’ I think that’s great, for example.”

What Bronny James said about cardiac arrest

Bronny James hasn’t spoken much about what he endured after his cardiac arrest, or about the effects of a congenital heart defect. So the Men’s Health profile was notable for James’ insight into how the incident changed his life.

The 6-foot-1 guard admitted he initially considered whether his basketball career would be over. “There were a lot of emotions,” he said.

“I really mastered my routines to get back to where I was. I had to do breathing exercises and stuff. It was a total reset,” James added.

He also said he had to take heart medication and that he needed “my heart pillow.”

“When I coughed it hurt a little,” James explained, “but you get this pillow and when you cough you just hold it so it doesn’t hurt.”