LeBron James reveals he would MISS a Lakers game to see his son Bronny’s college debut for USC after cardiac arrest

LeBron James has revealed he will miss a Lakers game to watch his eldest son, Bronny's college basketball debut, after he was cleared by doctors to return to the court for USC four months after being diagnosed with a heart condition.

The 38-year-old James told ESPN on the same day LA lost to the OKC Thunder: “I already told my teammates that if they play on the same day as us, I'm going to catch them the next game.

'Family above all.'

As exclusively revealed by DailyMail.com, the James clan believes Bronny's agreement to return to basketball is “the best Christmas present the family could ask for.”

The NBA's all-time leading scorer has never hidden his dream of one day playing against or with his son in the league. Bronny, 19, was found to have a congenital heart defect that was treatable shortly after he went into cardiac arrest while training at the Galen Center in July.

Bronny, a freshman at Southern California, is expected to make his collegiate debut soon. A spokesperson for the James family said in a statement Thursday that their son will have a final evaluation with USC staff this week and will resume training next week.

He will be able to play in games “shortly thereafter,” the paper said.

“The heart specialists have cleared him, which is great,” coach Andy Enfield said after training on Thursday, “and now it's a matter of getting him back on the pitch next week, hopefully so he can start training with full contact with the team.'

Bronny did not participate in pre-game warmups Wednesday night and only joined his teammates on the bench late in the first half of their 106-78 loss at Eastern Washington. He joked and smiled with the other reserves and stood at the back of the groups during timeouts.

The Trojans (5-2) will play No. 11 Gonzaga in Las Vegas on Saturday. Their next home game is on December 10 against Long Beach State, a day when the Los Angeles Lakers are off, which would allow James to see the debut of his namesake son. The Trojans then went on the road for four games in a row.

“That's not my decision and it's probably too early to speculate,” Enfield said. “He's been out of basketball for a few months now, so we'll be patient with him and as soon as we get the green light, we'll get him involved in games.”

“We're excited, but we'll be even more excited when he actually plays for us,” leading scorer Boogie Ellis said. “That's definitely a piece we're missing.”

While Bronny will be a welcome addition to USC's rotation, he will need time to acclimate to the game action. He has been on the court twice in recent weeks for pre-game warmups, doing some rebounding and making shots, as well as watching his teammates. He has also been to training.

“We're all ready to have him back,” said forward Kijani Wright, who played with James in high school. “It'll just be another surveillance component that we have, adding more fire.”

Bronny need look no further than teammate Vincent Iwuchukwu for inspiration. The 7-foot-1 sophomore suffered cardiac arrest in July 2022. He began limited training last December and made his debut in January. Last season he played fourteen games, averaging 5.4 points and 2.5 rebounds.

Iwuchukwu was the best player off the bench Wednesday night, with 13 points, six rebounds and two blocks.

Bronny was a McDonald's All-American like his father. The 6-foot-1 guard played at Sierra Canyon School in the Chatsworth section of Los Angeles and opted to stay close to home in choosing USC.