Bronny James, son of basketball legend LeBron James, has been given the green light to return to training after recovering from cardiac arrest.
The 19-year-old has was rushed to hospital in July when a congenital heart defect was found to be the cause of the sudden medical episode during training with his University of Southern California (USC) team.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Stephen A. Smith reacts to devastating news of Bronny James’s cardiac arrest.
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In a statement, the James family said their teenager will be eased back into basketball.
“Bronny will have a final evaluation with USC staff, resume practice next week, and return to games soon after,” it reads.
“The James family would like to express their gratitude to the incredible medical team, the entire USC community, and especially the countless friends, family and fans for their love and support. Fight on!”
It was three days in hospital before doctors found the defect in the son of the NBA’s all-time leading points scorer’s heart, which has been there since birth.
LeBron, who will be 39 in a few weeks, has achieved it all in the game; four NBA championships, four league MVP awards and four finals MVP awards.
But he has made clear that the last thing on his professional basketball bucket list is to remain in the league long enough to play alongside his son, Bronny.
Bronny is the eldest of three siblings. Bryce Maximus is 16, and sister, Zhuri, is nine.
At the time of the then-18year-old’s collapse, a James family spokesperson released a frightening statement.
“Yesterday while practising, Bronny James suffered a cardiac arrest,” the statement said in July.
“Medical staff was able to treat Bronny and take him to the hospital. He is now in stable condition and no longer in ICU.
“We ask for respect and privacy for the James family and we will update media when there is more information.
“LeBron and (wife) Savannah wish to publicly send their deepest thanks and appreciation to the USC medical and athletic staff for their incredible work and dedication to the safety of their athletes.”