Bronny James will play basketball again in ‘very near future’

In a bit of good news this Friday afternoon, the James family provided the latest medical update we’ve gotten on incoming USC freshman Bronny James.

Bronny, the eldest son of Lakers star LeBron James and his wife Savannah, suffered sudden cardiac arrest while practicing at USC last month. In the time since, the James family has asked for privacy, but Bronny has also been seen up and about all around Los Angeles with his father and family at a Drake concert, the ESPYs and on LeBron’s Instagram, among other places.

Friday’s update featured the most positive news yet, as a family spokesperson revealed that Bronny’s collapse was caused by a congenital heart defect, while also announcing that after consultation with multiple doctors, the family expects him to be able to play basketball again “in the very near future.”

When exactly “the very near future” entails remains unknown, probably even to Bronny, LeBron and the rest of the James family. It is equally unknowable for right now what sort of processes and checkpoints he’ll have to clear to get there.

But from a life perspective, this is about the best news possible, as while basketball is obviously moved to the background in an event like this, just the fact that it appears Bronny is on track to receive clearance to play again certainly makes it seem like he will most likely be healthy moving forward, which is all anyone could have hoped for when the original distressing news dropped.

People will of course always wonder what each successive update means for LeBron’s oft-stated desire to play with Bronny one day, but for now, one would imagine he’s just happy to have his son healthy enough to provide updates like this about. It sounds like basketball will return to both their lives, but for now, it can wait a little while longer.

You can follow Harrison on Twitter at @hmfaigen.