USC basketball freshman Bronny James suffered a horrific setback in 2023, going into cardiac arrest during Trojans practice. James was sent to the hospital after the incident, ultimately being unable to play at the beginning of the 2023 basketball season.

After missing some time at the beginning of the year, James made his debut in December. USC basketball assistant coach Eric Mobley spoke on the incident and the story behind what really happened, per Luca Evans at The Orange County Register.

Mobley mentioned that it was practice as normal. The team was running a scrimmage, and the players were given a three-minute break to get water and hydrate before getting back on the court. James was behind Mobley at the time, talking with one of his teammates. When the whistle blew to head back on the court and resume play, Mobley heard a thud on the ground.

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James had fallen to the floor, in what Mobley describes as unresponsive, with his eyes rolling to the back of his head. It was reported that James was out for a couple of minutes before any sign of response occurred. Mobley says that he thought James was suffering a seizure and didn't know they were dealing with cardiac arrest.

Once James was finally up, he tried walking it off, but USC basketball had already elected to call an ambulance. Mobley said that James wanted to keep playing, with the freshman stating “I’m all right… I just hit two buckets in a row, Coach, and I wanted to finish practice. Coach, I was killing ’em.” Mobley said he was extremely impressed with James' attitude despite dealing with a difficult situation.