Can Bronny James Still Play Basketball?

Can Bronny James still play basketball? Breaking news that Lebron’s son has been diagnosed with a congenital heart defect is raising questions.

Worried fans are searching for Bronny James diagnosis. Some are even wondering if Bronny is still alive or not.

The good news is that doctors now know the Bronny James cause of cardiac arrest, meaning they can strategise and plan around what to do.

The bad news is the diagnosis of a congenital heart defect.

Hence, this article will explore whether with the new discovery – Bronny James can still play basketball.

Can Bronny James still play basketball?

This is the big question on the mind of all fans of the son of NBA basketball legend Lebron James, Bronny.

Recall the USC freshman guard collapsed on the court during a workout in Julya and was only saved through quick thinking and luck.

Since then, there has been a lookout to discover what caused Bronny James heart attack.

In a statement released Friday, August 25th 2023, a family spokeswoman for the James family revealed for the very first time that Bronny James causes of cardiac arrest has been revealed as a congenital heart defect.

“It is an anatomically and functionally significant Congenital Heart Defect which can and will be treated,” the statement said.

The next paragraph of the statement addressed the big question on everyone’s mind – can Bronny James still play basketball?

The statement expressed hope that he will, with the family saying they expect his treatment to get him back on the court sooner rather than later.

“We are very confident in Bronny’s full recovery and return to basketball in the very near future. We will continue to provide updates to media and respectfully reiterate the family’s request for privacy.” the statement added.

This is unmitigated good news as the initial fear had been very present that he would not be able to return to playing basketball.

Following his collapse, a trusted doctor by the name of Brian Sutterer, who has been studying the health of professional players for quite some time, analyzed Bronny’s situation and said his biggest fear is what could happen if he takes the court again without knowing exactly what went wrong within his body.

“If they don’t find an exact cause and you don’t really know what happened, you have to have that discussion of what exactly are the risks of going back out there and playing,” he said, underlying the importance of an accurate diagnosis.

“The key for Bronny’s future, in my opinion, is that they get the diagnosis right — and that’s not easy,” Indiana sports cardiologist Richard Kovacs said. 

“It takes a careful assessment by a team of cardiologists who are familiar with looking at diseased hearts and elite athlete hearts.” The American College of Cardiology chief medical adviser added.

All these make it clear that we would not have been able to give a clear answer to the ‘can Bronny James still play basketball’ question without this all-important diagnosis of a congenital heart defect.

With the diagnosis now though, it is hopeful he can make it back to the court.

On July 24th 2023, during a workout, Lebron James’ son Bronny’s heart stopped working during a workout at USC’s Galen Center.

He collapsed and had to be rushed to the hospital where he was revived.

Bronny James spent three days at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles before he was discharged.

Over the past few weeks, Bronny has been evaluated by some of the top cardiac doctors in the United States to determine the cause of his heart attack.

He had an initial evaluation at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and follow-up evaluations at the Mayo Clinic and the Atlantic Health-Morristown Medical Center in New Jersey.

All these lead to the diagnosis of Bronny James with a congenital heart defect, but based on the family’s reaction, they are optimistic it does not have to lead to the end of his career.

Can Bronny James still play basketball? At the moment, the answer seems to be yes. And we’re hopeful it would remain so.

What is a congenital heart defect?

According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) – “Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are the most common type of birth defect. As medical care and treatment have advanced, babies with a CHD are living longer and healthier lives.”

They continue: “CHDs are present at birth and can affect the structure of a baby’s heart and the way it works. 

“They can affect how blood flows through the heart and out to the rest of the body. 

“CHDs can vary from mild (such as a small hole in the heart) to severe (such as missing or poorly formed parts of the heart). About 1 in 4 babies born with a heart defect has a critical CHD (also known as critical congenital heart defect).

“Babies with a critical CHD need surgery or other procedures in the first year of life,”#

After his scary collapse during a basketball workout, Bronny James was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect leaving many wondering if he can still play basketball going forward!

So, what are the types of congenital heart defects?

They include; 

• Atrial Septal Defect 
• Atrioventricular Septal Defect 
• Coarctation of the Aorta* 
• Double-outlet Right Ventricle* 
• d-Transposition of the Great Arteries* 
• Ebstein Anomaly* 
• Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome* 
• Interrupted Aortic Arch* 
• Pulmonary Atresia* 
• Single Ventricle* 
• Tetralogy of Fallot* 
• Total Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Return* 
• Tricuspid Atresia* 
• Truncus Arteriosus* 
• Ventricular Septal Defect

The CDD adds that: “Some CHDs may be diagnosed during pregnancy using a special type of ultrasound called a fetal echocardiogram, which creates ultrasound pictures of the heart of the developing baby. 

“However, some CHDs are not detected until after birth or later in life, during childhood or adulthood,” which is what happened in Bronny James circumstance.

In regards to treatment, the CDC notes that: “Treatment for CHDs depends on the type and severity of the defect present. Some affected infants and children might need one or more surgeries to repair the heart or blood vessels. 

“Some can be treated without surgery using a procedure called cardiac catheterization. 

“A long tube, called a catheter, is threaded through the blood vessels into the heart, where a doctor can take measurements and pictures, do tests, or repair the problem,”

It’s not always a guarantee that the congenital heart defect can be fixed but with the case of Bronny James, his family have expressed hope that he will be fine and get back to his career.

Hence, all the fears leading people to wonder can Bronny James still play basketball might end up being unfounded.

Is Bronny James alive?

Bronny James is very much alive.

Following the revelation that Lebron James son Bronny had been diagnosed with a congenital heart defect, we noticed multiple online searches asking is Bronny James alive.

Bronny James is alive and currently in the process of being treated for his heart defect which was discovered when he collapsed during a basketball game at the USC Galen Centre in July.

Similar to Bronny James’ scary on-court collapse, his USC colleague Vincent Iwuchukwu also suffered a similar cardiac arrest on court.

Iwuchukwu was performing well during a summer workout, but USC assistant coach Eric Mobley noticed something looked off after Iwuchukwu grabbed a rebound with less force than usual. 

As players took a break, Mobley called over head coach Andy Enfield to alert him that Iwuchukwu “didn’t look right.”

“[I] sat down, and I just got, like, super dizzy out of nowhere. … I was about to drink my water, and I was like, ‘Bro, I’m so dizzy,'” Iwuchukwu would later say.

“And bam. That’s all I remembered.”

Iwuchukwu was hospitalised after the incident and was able to return to playing with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) placed in his chest to regulate his heart rate.

The hope is Bronny James can still return to play basketball too in a similar manner.

A similar tragedy hit Caleb White, an Alabama high school athlete and he did not survive.

Bronny James basketball

The below is culled from the Wikipedia entry for Bronny James

LeBron Raymone “Bronny” James Jr. (born October 6, 2004) is an American college basketball player for the USC Trojans of the Pac-12 Conference. 

A consensus four-star recruit, he was named a McDonald’s All-American as a senior in high school in 2023. James is the eldest child of professional basketball player LeBron James.

James was born on October 6, 2004, to reigning NBA Rookie of the Year LeBron James, age 19, and his girlfriend Savannah Brinson, age 18.

He was raised by both of his parents, who married in 2013.

In July 2023 whilst working out at USC, Bronny James suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed.

He was treated and recovered but it left many wondering if Bronny James can still play basketball.

In a statement released about a month later, his family expressed hope that he would return to the court sooner rather than later, revealing he had been diagnosed with a congenital heart defect.

As a child, James played several sports including basketball and soccer, but his father did not allow him to play football or ice hockey because of safety concerns.

By the time he was 10 years old, his highlights from youth basketball games were drawing national attention.

During his childhood, Bronny James played for the Miami City Ballers with teammates such as Jett Howard and the Houston-based Gulf Coast Blue Chips.

In middle school, he competed for the North Coast Blue Chips, a team that included Mikey Williams.

James also played for Old Trail School in Bath Township, Summit County, Ohio, where he attended middle school, and led his team to an Independent School League tournament win.

On May 29, 2019, James transferred to Sierra Canyon School, a private K–12 school in Chatsworth, Los Angeles, for his freshman year of high school. 

He joined the school with his brother Bryce and incoming senior Zaire Wade, son of Dwyane Wade, a longtime teammate of James’ father.

By 2015, James was receiving scholarship offers and letters of interest from college basketball programs.

On January 17, 2023, the Los Angeles Times reported that James would decide between attending college at Ohio State, Oregon or USC.

On May 6, James announced his commitment to USC, with Ohio State being his other finalist

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