LeBron James and wife Savannah discuss Bronny’s cardiac arrest for the first time in emotional interview for NBA Netflix show

LeBron James and wife Savannah reflected on their son Bronny’s cardiac arrest over a year since he collapsed while training with the USC Trojans.

The James family and basketball fans across the globe were left shocked when Bronny suffered the cardiac arrest during a practice session for the Trojans back in July 2023.

Fortunately, the young guard recovered after undergoing surgery and went on to play a season with USC before he was drafted to join dad LeBron at the Lakers.

Speaking on the pilot of Netflix’s new ‘Starting 5’ docuseries, proud parents LeBron and Savannah candidly addressed the impact of their firstborn’s cardiac arrest.

‘I think at the end of the day, it was just about us supporting each other and just being super grateful for the outcome,’ a tearful Savannah said.

The episode also featured a clip of LeBron and his mother Gloria James visiting USC. During their trip, they met a medical staff member named Erin who was the first to respond after Bronny collapsed in practice.

‘Shout out to the man above,’ LeBron said in his interview as footage of Gloria meeting the medical responder was shown. ‘And to the whole coaching staff, training staff, members of that program,’ he continued, calling Erin a ‘lifesaver, literally.’

‘Erin performed CPR on Bronny when he went down,’ LeBron told his mother during their visit to the university.

The four-time NBA champion also noted that the school’s medical staff is ‘the reason Bronny is alive now and smiling and thriving and doing what any 19-year-old should be doing, and that’s living out their dream.’

Bronny was diagnosed with an anatomically and functionally significant congenital heart defect in August. He underwent successful surgery before playing 25 games in cardinal and gold.

In the same interview, LeBron shared how his junior’s biggest concern at the time of his health scare was getting back on the court.

‘It’s crazy with kids when they love something and they want something, that’s all that matters to them,’ he explained about Bronny. ‘As a parent, you’re like, “You had a cardiac arrest, like…,” and in his mind he’s like, “Can I or can I not play ball again and if the answer is yes, when can I play ball again?” I love that.’

‘Bronny’s the first person in the family to go to college,’ LeBron continued, sharing that he loves seeing his son ‘playing the game he loves’. But more importantly, he rejoiced ‘to see where [Bronny] is as a young man.’

‘You’re like, wow, it could have been, you know, so much more worse for our family,’ he added.

After his lone college season, Bronny entered the NBA Draft and was historically selected by the Lakers with the 55th overall pick. The father-and-son tandem set foot on the court together in a preseason game against the Phoenix Suns on Oct. 6.

In an interview on the Today show, LeBron called playing with Bronny ‘the greatest thing that’s ever happened.’

‘There’s no greater accomplishment that will be able to overtake me being on the same floor as my son,’ he insisted.