USC sells out tickets for Bronny James debut vs. Long Beach State

Bronny James will have a warm welcome to the NCAA. On Friday, USC basketball announced James’ debut game against Long Beach State is sold out.

James is, of course, the son of future NBA Hall of Famer, LeBron James. In the 2023 cycle, James was rated as the No. 25 overall player in the country and a four-star prospect, according to the On3 Industry Rankings.

James suffered cardiac arrest in late July and has slowly worked his way back onto the court. He’s expected to come off the bench in against Long Beach State with a minutes restriction, per his head coach.

The two teams will tip-off on Sunday at 4 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network.

Lebron James excited for Bronny’s debut

As we all await his first collegiate appearance, no one is more excited for that moment than LeBron James himself.

Following the Lakers’ 133-110 loss in OKC last Thursday, LeBron answered several questions regarding the positive news on his son.

“I mean, obviously, you’ve seen the press release. But just a proud moment, big-time excitement for our family, for Bronny, and for USC as well,” LeBron said. “It’s something that he has been working toward for the last 12 weeks. For him to get the clearance to do what he loves to do? Going back to being with his teammates, putting on a uniform, things of that nature? It’s very gratifying, for sure.”

This was a long process, though, with no guarantees at the end of it. Bronny’s incident of cardiac arrest, which occurred due to a congenital heart defect, put a significant pause on what appears to be his very bright future in basketball.

Still, after much prayer, a lot of research, and hard work from everyone involved, James is ecstatic that this matter worked out how it did for Bronny.

“We just put it in God’s hands, man. Just trusted. That’s it. We prayed as a family. We had great doctors along the way the whole time telling us that they believed things would work out for us and in our favor,” LeBron said.

“Bronny took care of his business and he did everything. Didn’t have any setbacks, didn’t try to rush the process of his rehab. He took every step accordingly to plan… For him to get that clearance over the last 48 hours was big time for him.”