Bronny James, after a wild journey in his recovery from a terrifying cardiac arrest that became a huge point of concern for Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James and his family, finally made his debut for the USC Trojans on Sunday, playing 16 minutes off the bench in an 84-79 defeat to the Long Beach State 49ers.
James made his college basketball debut to thunderous applause, as the crowd at Galen Center went out and showered the 19-year old guard with appreciation as he made his triumphant return on the hardwood — which is no mean feat given everything he has been through. And of course, amid all the applause, there is no bigger star of the young guard than his father, the Lakers star, who posted a heartfelt message on Instagram celebrating his son’s life, which LeBron knows to never take for granted.
“Can’t even tell y’all how EMOTIONAL today was for me! I’m literally drained and all I can say is @bronny you’re simply INCREDIBLE!! Damn the wins and loses that will occur. You’ve already won the ultimate goal/championship and that’s LIFE!!! Proud of you kid and today you’ve given me more life! Thank you and I love you
,” the Lakers star wrote as the caption of his post.
LeBron James, who’s fresh off leading the Lakers to the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament championship by winning tournament MVP honors, was present courtside on Sunday, with Bronny’s grandmother, Gloria, also in attendance to cheer on the returning guard for the USC Trojans.
Bronny didn’t need much time to get going either. Clearly taking after his father, the Trojans guard took off for a chasedown block early on in his debut, swatting away the shot of Long Beach’s Jadon Jones to pump up the crowd.
Bronny’s return to peak form will take some time, but seeing him play 16 minutes in his return is a big win in and of itself. After all, there were some who believed that the Lakers star’s firstborn won’t be able to play basketball again after a life-threatening battle with cardiac arrest, so now, anything the 19-year old guard achieves is just the cherry on top.