Bronny James hasn’t had the usual path to the NBA. Besides being born to basketball royalty, he also had to endure a cardiac arrest ahead of his college season that derailed his development. James is still dealing with the aftermath of the incident.
“I’ve become resilient over these past couple of years fighting through injuries, mental illness, stuff like that,” said James, via Associated Press. “Just, you know, coming in and working every day and staying the course… I’m trying to get past that,” James said. “It’s difficult, but I’m trying to work at it every day. It’s a blessing to be able to play this sport that I love. There’s a chance I wasn’t going to be able to. So, I wake up and I’m thankful for that every day.”
Bronny, 20, decided to follow in the footsteps of his dad, LeBron James, by declaring for the NBA draft last summer. After years of being in the spotlight, James was ready for his moment and he was ready to work on a long and successful basketball career.
Then, out of nowhere, James suffered a cardiac arrest ahead of his Freshman season at USC. It was a serious health scare for Bronny and a major national story at the time. Fortunately, the cause of James’ heart attack was identified as a congenital heart defect and he was eventually cleared to resume full basketball activities.
Bronny has since made a full recovery and he was able to play in most of his rookie campaign. Still, the whole experience did take a toll. Besides experiencing a setback with his development and pre-season training, the ordeal tested Bronny mentally in ways he’d never felt before.
Of course, it also gave him an entirely new perspective on life. After being reminded how easily it can be taken away, Bronny has learned not to take the game (or his health) for granted. He’s thankful every day that he’s on the court and wants to work to become the best player possible.
This season, after getting drafted 55th overall, his new assignment is with the Los Angeles Lakers alongside his dad. As the first father-son duo in NBA history, Bronny has to live up to massive expectations and it starts on day one.
In 7 games so far, James is averaging a modest 0.6 points, 0.3 assists, and 0.1 rebounds per game on 12.5% shooting. It’s far from an ideal stat line for the son of LeBron, but the Lakers are giving him the time and space necessary to properly develop his game.
In the G-Legaue, Bronny is already showing flashes of greatness with several standout performances, including a 30-point explosion earlier this month. While the scouts remain unimpressed with Bronny, he’s showing enough flashes to give the Lakers fans hope for his future.
At the very least, you must commend James for continuing to work hard and fight for his goals even after such a scary situation. To experience cardiac arrest at such a young age is not a normal experience but the way he’s responded after the ordeal has revealed a lot about his character.
In the case of Bronny, it seems the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Now that he’s in full health and living his dream, the hard work begins with honing his craft and finding his place in the league.
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