With LeBron James watching, Long Beach State spoils Bronny James’ USC debut just months after cardiac arrest

LOS ANGELES — Not even 24 hours after winning a title of his own just a few hours east, LeBron James took on a very different role.

LeBron strolled into the Galen Center right as the national anthem was being performed ahead of USC’s matchup with Long Beach State on Sunday afternoon. The game, though just an early season nonconference battle that the Trojans let slip away and lost in overtime, marked the first time that LeBron’s son, Bronny James, took the court not even five months after he experienced cardiac arrest in the very same building.

LeBron, who helped the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Indiana Pacers 123-109 in the NBA’s in-season tournament championship game the night before in Las Vegas, held his daughter Zhuri’s hand as the rest of his family filed in behind him to their courtside seats in the sold-out arena. Then, about seven minutes into the game, LeBron was on his feet with his phone in hand. Like any other proud parent, he wanted to document the moment that his son checked into the game for the first time — which, just a few months ago, didn’t seem like it was even going to happen.

“I just want to say I’m thankful for everything,” a somber Bronny said after the loss. “The Mayo Clinic for helping me, my parents, siblings for supporting me through this hard time in my life. I just want to give appreciation for everyone who's helped me through this.”

Bronny James gets standing ovation in USC debut after cardiac arrest

Bronny collapsed and experienced cardiac arrest during a basketball workout with USC on July 24, shortly after the former four-star recruit first landed on campus. He was rushed to the hospital and briefly admitted into the ICU before he was released three days later. His family later revealed that Bronny had been diagnosed with a treatable congenital heart defect, which led to a surgery.

That was only 139 days ago.

Bronny has been slowly ramping up his basketball activity in recent weeks, and he was finally cleared to return to play with the team right after Thanksgiving. Bronny returned to practices in a full capacity earlier this week for the first time.

"I think everybody's been through a lot emotionally, Bronny the most," head coach Andy Enfield said. "He's handled it very well, and anytime you go through an emotional situation, it's nice to have teammates and a staff that can care. His teammates did a great job with Bronny. He's back now, and we're all excited for him."

Bronny came off the bench Sunday afternoon, which was always the plan. He checked into the game about seven minutes in and received a massive standing ovation.

Everyone in the crowd seemed to be on the edge of their seats every time James touched the ball during his first three-plus minute stretch on the court. On his first defensive possession, he nearly came up with a steal and poked the ball away, which led to a roar one would equate to any other player hitting a buzzer-beater.

Bronny checked back into the game later in the half, and quickly pulled out a highlight reminiscent of his father.

Just a possession later, Bronny snuck a nifty pass to center Vincent Iwuchukwu inside for a dunk, which put the Trojans up by double digits. About two minutes after he entered the game this time, though, Bronny tugged at his jersey and asked Enfield to come out.

Finally in the second half, Bronny caught a pass in transition and drilled a wide-open 3-pointer for the first made bucket of his college career. The shot ignited the Galen Center, and stalled a long Long Beach State run.

USC struggled to put Long Beach State away the entire afternoon, however, and let its 15-point halftime lead slip away entirely in the final minutes. The 49ers then got the jump early in overtime and, after Bronny checked out with a little more than two minutes left, held on for the 84-79 upset win to stun the Trojans. USC scored just five points in overtime, and shot a rough 20-of-36 from the free-throw line.

Bronny played 17 minutes, which Edfield said was in line with the minutes restriction he has been given. Bronny finished with four points, three rebounds and two assists. USC, which started the season ranked No. 21 in the country, has now lost three of its past four games and sits 5-4.

Over the coming weeks, assuming all goes well, Bronny will continue to take a bigger and bigger role within the team. That's something Enfield and the Trojans know he's capable of. But as these losses continue to stack up before Pac-12 play starts, USC has plenty of work to do outside of simply incorporating Bronny to a normal level.

"We recruited Bronny James because he's a very good basketball player," Enfield said. "We expect him to keep developing now that he's back on the court. He went through a very unfortunate situation, and he's done an incredible job to get back to this point. ... We have to get better as a basketball team; he needs to keep improving as an individual player. That's what we're focused on."