Bronny James Jr. graced his first-ever cover shoot as the latest face of Men’s Health magazine, where he spoke candidly about his life-changing cardiac arrest in July 2023. 

The incident occurred during a workout at the University of Southern California, where he was spending his freshman year before declaring for the 2024 NBA Draft. Reflecting on how the scare altered his life, Bronny shared that things are far from normal now. “My days aren’t normal anymore,” Bronny admitted. “I still feel like I’m getting back, I’m getting back to where I was.” 

The cardiac arrest, caused by a congenital heart defect, happened on what seemed like a regular day during a running drill. He described the experience as a sudden blackout, leaving him uncertain of the consequences at the moment. “At the point when it happened, there were a whole bunch of categories that what had happened could fall under, so yeah,” Bronny explained. “There were a whole lot of emotions.”

Despite the chaos, the 20-year-old noted how the scare became a wake-up call for him to take his health more seriously. He shared that the incident pushed him to adopt a more disciplined routine. “I got real on top of my routines to get back to where I was,” Bronny said. “I had to do breathing exercises and stuff. It was a total reset. I have to stay on top of my heart medications.”

In the new Netflix docuseries “Starting 5,” his father, LeBron James, spoke about how deeply the health scare affected their family. The NBA star recalled how Bronny’s sole focus after the incident was returning to basketball. LeBron shared that despite the seriousness of the situation, Bronny’s first question was always about 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," LeBron said. "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?'”

LeBron also expressed pride in seeing Bronny take major steps in his life, saying, "I love that. Bronny's the first person in the family to go to college." He continued, “I love seeing him playing the game he loves, and to see where he is as a young man.” Reflecting on how much worse things could have been, he added, “You're like, wow, it could have been, you know, so much more worse for our family.”