Bronny James, 18, the son of NBA superstar LeBron James, reportedly suffered "cardiac arrest" during basketball practice on Monday and was rushed to a hospital and placed in the intensive care unit, the Conservative Brief reported.
Per a statement from the James family, the rising star was later moved out of the ICU and was listed in stable condition, and is expected to fully recover from the frightening health incident.
Given the relative rarity of such cardiac incidents involving young and physically fit athletes, there has naturally been some speculation about what may have caused the NBA superstar's son's heart to briefly stop beating prior to receiving immediate treatment from medical staff that was on hand at the facility where the incident occurred.
Fox News reported that the heart health-related incident involving Bronny James occurred Monday in Los Angeles, California where the top basketball recruit was practicing and working out at the Galen Center, where the University of Southern California's basketball team plays and trains.
"Yesterday while practicing Bronny James suffered a cardiac arrest," a spokesperson for the James family said in a statement. "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," the spokesperson added. "LeBron and 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."
Fox News noted that USC cited its "respect for student privacy" as a reason to decline to provide any comment on what occurred.
The outlet further noted that James, a McDonald's All-American who ranked 33rd among his class of basketball recruits, announced in May that he had committed to play for USC over several other top programs that had courted him as a likely rising star player on the fast-track to play alongside his superstar father in the NBA.
Of course, though certainly not unheard of, it was until recent years incredibly rare and uncommon for young and physically fit athletes to suffer cardiac health incidents, and local ABC affiliate KABC discussed the James incident with a local cardiologist to figure out what possibly may have caused the 18-year-old player to suffer cardiac arrest.
Dr. Jahandar Saleh of Dignity Health Northridge explained that most cardiac incidents involving young athletes are caused by "congenital" heart issues that previously went unnoticed, but also mentioned the possibilities of dehydration, an "electrolyte imbalance," a heart rhythm disorder, or "myocarditis," which is an "inflammation of the heart muscle."
Though nobody in the media wants to address it directly, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have acknowledged an observed causal link between the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and the onset of cardiac health issues like myocarditis or pericarditis, particularly among male teenagers and young adults.
Interestingly enough, up until May of this year, USC's vaccination program policy required that all students be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, despite the known risks for young people, though such vaccination status is now no longer mandatory but still remains "strongly" recommended by the school.
That prior USC vaccination requirement likely didn't matter, though, as CBS News reported in September 2021 that Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James had openly confirmed that he and all of his family members, presumably including his eldest son, had received COVID-19 vaccinations despite initial skepticism.
"I think everyone has they own choice -- to do what they feel is right for themselves and their family and things of that nature," James said of the decision he'd made for himself and his family. "I know that I was very (skeptical) about it all but after doing my research. I felt like it was best suited for not only me but for my family and my friends."
