Former NBA All-Star’s Son Alijah Arenas Likely Sidelined For Full NCAA Season After Latest Meniscus Injury

Gilbert Arenas' son Alijah has been sidelined for at least six to eight months due to a tear in his meniscus, says NBA Insider Chris Haynes.

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Credit: Abigail Dollins/Statesman Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

USC’s newest recruit, Alijah Arenas, has suffered a tear in his meniscus that could sideline him for six to eight months, which could mean that he watches the entire debut season of his NCAA career from the bench, as per NBA Insider Chris Haynes

The Trojans could decide to redshirt him for the season. But it is unlikely, as the former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas’ son was expected to declare for the draft in 2026, making him a likely candidate for a ‘one and done’ college career. 

Arenas is a highly-rated prospect for the NBA. Some sources believe that he could be a potential lottery pick and even a top-five pick in the draft. During his Jr. Varsity season this year, he played 35 games where he averaged 29.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.9 steals per game. 

Just weeks after his terrible accident in April 2025, Arenas had committed to USC for his first NCAA season. He was going to, in a way, follow the footsteps of Bronny James into the NBA. While he is much more highly rated than Bronny, they both believed that they did not need to go very far from their homes in California to get the best facilities and chance at improving their game to make it to the league. 

Unfortunately, Arenas will now likely sit out most of his rookie season at USC unless he makes a miracle recovery. NBA fans seemingly deemed this as the ‘Arenas Curse’ as his father, Gilbert Arenas, also saw his career be significantly impacted by his knee issues, especially meniscus tears. 

Like in 2007, he tore the meniscus on his knee twice in the same season. Fans took to social media, and while most of them sympathized with the young starlet through their prayers, some also let his father bear the brunt of it. 

“Really feel for this young man. His wreck, his dad is a f***in idiot, now this.”

“USC Basketball has got to be cursed when it comes to sons of NBA players SMH,” said an NBA fan about Bronny James’ cardiac issue when he was with USC as well.

“Gil’s negative karma is finally hitting.”

“This just s**ks. He’s a guaranteed lottery pick for the 2025 season. We may have another Michael Porter Jr. situation where one of the best scorers in the country completely falls and goes to a good team. That’s the bright side.”

“Wasn’t he in a car crash recently, too? Prayers, man.”

“Gil man.. pls stop talkin about legends.. This started once u started saying Bs.”

Most of the fans are not blaming Gilbert Arenas, but some are making sure to point out the eerie coincidence of timing and type of injury. One key question that is brought up with this injury is how it will affect his draft stock if he doesn’t play a whole season in the NCAA.

Fans pointed out correctly that we may have another Michael Porter Jr. type situation with Arenas, who was a projected top-five pick in the draft but fell to the 14th pick due to his injury situation and joined a contending team with the Nuggets. Therefore, a silver lining here for Arenas could be that his draft stock falls and he joins a strong team in the NBA. 

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Chaitanya Dadhwal is an NBA Analyst and Columnist at Fadeaway World from New Delhi, India. He fell in love with basketball in 2018 after seeing James Harden in his prime. He joined the sports journalism world in 2021, one year before finishing his law school in 2022. He attended Jindal Global Law School in Sonipat, India, where his favorite subject was also Sports Law.He transitioned from law to journalism after realizing his true passion for sports and basketball in particular. Even though his journalism is driven by his desire to understand both sides of an argument and give a neutral perspective, he openly admits he is biased towards the Houston Rockets and Arsenal. But that intersection of in-depth analysis and passion helps him simplify the fine print and complex language for his readers.His goal in life is to open his own sports management agency one day and represent athletes. He wants to ensure he can help bridge the gap in equal opportunity for athletes across various sports and different genders playing the same sport.
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