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More than a year on, Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James is still affected by the cardiac arrest he suffered during an offseason workout ahead of his freshman year at USC.
“My days aren’t normal anymore,” he said to Hanif Abdurraqib in an interview for Men’s Health. “I still feel like I’m getting back, I’m getting back to where I was.”
Abdurraqib detailed James’ recollection of his medical episode.
“He tells me that it just felt like a normal day,” the writer said. “He had his smoothie and went to go to a summer workout on USC’s campus before school started and the season kicked off in earnest. Midway through running drills, he says, he blacked out, doesn’t remember anything else. He had suffered a cardiac arrest.”
Doctors subsequently found a congenital heart defect that likely caused the cardiac arrest. James was cleared to suit up for the Trojans in 2023-24 and received the green light from the NBA’s Fitness to Play Panel leading up to the NBA draft.
A look at the 6’2″ guard’s on-court numbers at USC shows how much his debut campaign was disrupted. He averaged 4.8 points on 36.6 percent shooting along with 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists.
James’ performance in the NBA preseason is an illustration of how he remains a work in progress. He has shot 1-of-11 for two points with one assist to five turnovers in 36 minutes across three games.
The 20-year-old will probably spend most of his rookie season in the NBA G League so he can develop his game in a less pressurized atmosphere. And it sounds like he’s adjusting to his new career in more ways than one.
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