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Bronny James made his long-awaited debut to a standing ovation inside the Galen Center on Sunday night. With 12:58 to play in the first half, USC’s freshman guard entered his first collegiate game.
James, the son of NBA superstar LeBron James, signed with the Trojans as a 5-star recruit expected to make an immediate impact. When he suffered cardiac arrest in July, everything was thrown into chaos. After returning to the court Sunday night, James briefly spoke to reporters and expressed gratitude to the coaches and medical staff who helped him recover and return.
“I just want to say I’m thankful for everything,” James said. “The Mayo Clinic, everything they helped me with. My parents, siblings supporting me through this hard time in my life. I just wanted to give appreciation to everyone that’s helped me through this. And also my coach, my teammates, my other coaches who have been with me since the start. I just want to say I’m thankful for them.”
James played 16 minutes in the 84-79 overtime loss to Long Beach State, scoring four points (1-3 FG, 1-2 FT) to go with three rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block. James did not score his first points until the second half. But he had a chase-down block in the first half that ignited the crowd and looked an awfully lot like a play his father has made time and again in the NBA.
His first points came on a transition 3 in the second half and brought the Galen crowd to its feet once again.
First bucket for Bronny! pic.twitter.com/a0Rm69E2uF
— Ryan Abraham (@insidetroy) December 10, 2023
James came up with a key steal in the final minute of regulation, but a split at the free throw line with 21 seconds left kept Long Beach State within two points. The Beach tied the game on a paint jumper with three seconds to play, then went on to win in overtime.
USC coach Andy Enfield confirmed after the game that James was on a minutes restriction and USC did not go over it, despite James being on the floor to start the extra period.
“I thought Bronny played well. He defended at a high level. He rebounded. He had two steals, two assists. Made the 3. I thought he was very solid,” Enfield said.
Now that James has made his debut, the spotlight only figures to grow. Enfield isn’t worried about the first-year guard handling all the extra noise.
“Bronny handles the spotlight extremely well. He’s a passionate young man about playing basketball,” he said. “I’m not sure what will happen in the future as far as the spotlight, but all I know is he handles it very well.”
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
