Bronny James, “whose full name is LeBron James Jr.,” was 18 when he went into cardiac arrest “during a basketball workout at the University of Southern California” on July 24, 2023, the Associated Press reported. His father is LeBron James, “the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, a four-time champion and three-time Olympic gold medallist,” in Al Jazeera’s words. “Thanks to the swift and effective response by the USC athletics’ medical staff, Bronny James was successfully treated for a sudden cardiac arrest,” Cedars-Sinai said in a statement. In August, a statement from a family spokesperson said: “It is an anatomically and functionally significant Congenital Heart Defect which can and will be treated.”
“Bronny James showed off his defensive skills in his college debut for Southern California nearly five months after he suffered cardiac arrest,” the AP wrote in December 2023, and “Students lined up around one side of Galen Center.” “I just want to say I’m thankful for everything,” he said afterward “in brief comments to a horde of media.”
In June 2024, the AP reported, “Bronny James was taken with the No. 55 overall pick, deep in the second round and with only three picks remaining in this year’s draft,” by his father’s team, the Los Angeles Lakers. That set up “an NBA first — a father-son on-court duo in the league simultaneously as players,” the AP wrote, and as Al Jazeera put it, “No father-son duo has ever played during the same NBA season, let alone on the same team.”
On October 22, 2024, Guinness World Records says, they became “The first father-son duo to play on the same NBA team at the same time,” in the Lakers’ “110-103 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves,” as theScore reported. “The sold-out crowd let out a roar when 20-year-old Bronny came on alongside LeBron, who was reentering with four minutes to play in the first half,” Al Jazeera wrote.
“Going up to the scorer’s table and checking in for the first time was a crazy moment I will never forget,” Bronny said. His father called it “one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever got from the man above,” in Al Jazeera’s report, or, in theScore’s, “one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever gotten.” Less than 15 months earlier, his son’s heart had stopped.
Fact check
The facts and where they come from
- His heart stopped at 18, but within 15 months he made NBA history with his dad. The Associated Press (PBS NewsHour): “The 18-year-old son of Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James was stricken on July 24.” Guinness World Records: “The first father-son duo to play on the same NBA team at the same time is LeBron James (USA) and Bronny James (USA) in Los Angeles, California, USA, on 22 October 2024.” July 24, 2023, to October 22, 2024, is 14 months and 28 days. 17
- His name is Bronny James. The Associated Press (PBS NewsHour): “Bronny, whose full name is LeBron James Jr.” 1
- His father is LeBron James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. Al Jazeera: “LeBron, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, a four-time champion and three-time Olympic gold medallist.” 5
- In July 2023, during a workout at USC, he went into cardiac arrest. The Associated Press (PBS NewsHour): “during a basketball workout at the University of Southern California”; “the incident at USC’s Galen Center.” Cedars-Sinai’s statement (ABC News): “Bronny James was successfully treated for a sudden cardiac arrest.” 12
- Quick work by the medical staff saved him. Cedars-Sinai’s statement (ABC News): “Thanks to the swift and effective response by the USC athletics’ medical staff, Bronny James was successfully treated for a sudden cardiac arrest.” 2
- A heart defect he was born with needed to be treated. The family spokesperson’s statement, as the Associated Press reported it (PBS NewsHour): “It is an anatomically and functionally significant Congenital Heart Defect which can and will be treated.” 1
- Nearly five months later, he played his first college game. The Associated Press (KSL): “Bronny James showed off his defensive skills in his college debut for Southern California nearly five months after he suffered cardiac arrest”; “Students lined up around one side of Galen Center.” 3
- “I just want to say I’m thankful for everything,” he said. The Associated Press (KSL): “‘I just want to say I’m thankful for everything,’ Bronny James said afterward in brief comments to a horde of media.” 3
- The next June, the Lakers drafted him 55th. The Associated Press (FOX 2 Detroit, June 27, 2024): “Bronny James was taken with the No. 55 overall pick, deep in the second round and with only three picks remaining in this year’s draft.” 4
- No father and son had ever played in the NBA at the same time. Al Jazeera: “No father-son duo has ever played during the same NBA season, let alone on the same team.” The Associated Press (FOX 2 Detroit): “an NBA first — a father-son on-court duo in the league simultaneously as players.” 54
- That October, father and son checked in together. theScore: “LeBron James and Bronny James made history, becoming the first father-son duo to play together in an NBA game during the Los Angeles Lakers’ 110-103 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night”; “before they checked in together.” Guinness World Records: “on 22 October 2024.” 67
- The crowd roared. Al Jazeera: “The sold-out crowd let out a roar when 20-year-old Bronny came on alongside LeBron, who was reentering with four minutes to play in the first half of the game on Tuesday.” 5
- Bronny called it “a crazy moment I will never forget.” Al Jazeera: “‘Going up to the scorer’s table and checking in for the first time was a crazy moment I will never forget,’ Bronny said.” 5
- His father called it “one of the greatest gifts.” Al Jazeera: “it’s one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever got from the man above.” theScore: “After the victory, James said playing alongside Bronny is ‘one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever gotten.’” 56
- Less than 15 months earlier, his son’s heart had stopped. The Associated Press (PBS NewsHour): “was stricken on July 24” (2023). Guinness World Records: “on 22 October 2024.” That is 14 months and 28 days. 17
Sources
- Bronny James’ cardiac arrest caused by congenital heart defect, spokesperson says (Beth Harris, August 26, 2023) The Associated Press, on PBS NewsHour
- Bronny James, son of NBA superstar LeBron James, discharged from hospital after cardiac arrest (Emily Shapiro, July 27, 2023) ABC News, on ABC13 Houston
- ‘Thankful’ Bronny James makes college debut in loss for USC nearly 5 months after cardiac arrest (December 10, 2023) The Associated Press, on KSL
- Bronny James, the son of LeBron James, taken by Lakers with 55th pick in NBA draft (June 27, 2024) The Associated Press, on FOX 2 Detroit
- LeBron and Bronny James share court, make NBA history as Lakers beat Wolves (October 23, 2024) Al Jazeera
- LeBron, Bronny become 1st father-son duo to play together in NBA (October 22, 2024) theScore
- First father-son duo to play on the same NBA team at the same time Guinness World Records
Notes
His heart: his cardiac arrest and his heart condition are given here only in the words of the hospital’s statement (Cedars-Sinai, reported by ABC News) and his family spokesperson’s statement (reported by the Associated Press). The Short’s “a procedure to fix” follows the Associated Press’s June 2024 report. No other medical details are given, and nothing is guessed.
“Saved him”: the Short’s plain reading of the hospital’s statement that he “was successfully treated” thanks to “the swift and effective response by the USC athletics’ medical staff.”
That October: the two first shared the court in a preseason game earlier that month (theScore: “The pair played together in a preseason contest against the Suns earlier in October.”); the crowd’s roar and both quotes are from the game on October 22, 2024, the date Guinness World Records gives.
LeBron’s words: Al Jazeera prints “one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever got from the man above,” theScore “one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever gotten”; the Short quotes only the words both share.
Fifteen months: July 24, 2023, to October 22, 2024, is 14 months and 28 days, so the Short says “within fifteen months” and “less than fifteen months.” The story ends in October 2024; this page doesn’t say whether they play together today.
Bronny James and LeBron James are alive. Only their basketball record, published reporting, the hospital’s and the family’s public statements and their own published words are used; nothing here goes into their family or their private lives.
Pictures: no free photo shows his cardiac arrest, his college debut, the 2024 draft or the October 22, 2024, game; every picture of those we found is agency or broadcast work, so none is used. Bronny James is in two photos from the Lakers’ game at the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 28, 2026, warming up and dunking in warm-ups, and LeBron James is at the same game (all three by Erik Drost). LeBron James is also at the Paris 2024 Olympics on August 3, 2024, in a USA warm-up shirt and in his USA No. 6 jersey (two photos by Clément Bardot). USC’s Galen Center is seen during a USC–Oregon game on February 11, 2017, years before 2023 (Spatms); Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, the hospital that treated him, on February 21, 2024 (Jengod); and the Lakers’ arena, at an NBA Cup game against Oklahoma City, and the Lakers’ championship banners and retired jerseys on November 29, 2024, five weeks after the October 22 game (two by Troutfarm27). The other people in these photos are not named.
Photo credits
The archive photos in this story
The photographs and illustrations in this story are in the public domain or shared under open licenses; each one is credited below with its license. Tap one to enlarge it, or follow the link to its Wikimedia Commons page for the full record. The narration, captions and graphics in the Short are our own; its music and sound effects are credited below.
Music and sound effects
Music: Schumann, Kinderszenen, Op. 15: No. 1 'Of Foreign Lands and Peoples (Musopen, public domain); Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition: IV. Bydlo (piano) (Musopen, public domain); Dvorak, Symphony No. 9 'From the New World': II. Largo (Musopen, public domain).
Sound effects: Freesound, CC0.
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
