This summer, the USC men’s basketball program had one of its biggest recruiting hauls in school history, landing a consensus top-3 high school player in the country in Isaiah Collier, a 6’11 force in Arrinten Page, and, of course, Bronny James himself.

Unfortunately, James’ collegiate career has been on hold for the past few months following a cardiac episode during a team workout in July. The entire sports world rallied behind the 19-year-old guard on his return to not only the basketball court, but also to his daily life.

Slowly but steadily, LeBron James’ eldest kid began making public appearances at huge occasions, and positive reports from his family members began to circulate in the media. We even saw Bronny James join his Trojans teammates for warm-ups a few weeks ago, and not long after that, the news became official: Bronny James had been cleared to make a complete return to the team, and he would be making his 2023-2024 freshman debut this Sunday against Long Beach State.

When it comes to athletic events, USC has been a very popular destination in the second half of the year. Caleb Williams worked hard every game before potentially going for the NFL Draft, while Juju Watkins is putting up historic statistics for the USC women’s basketball team.

However, it looks that LeBron James is the only one willing to put all of his priorities on hold in order to see Bronny put on the red and gold outfit for the first time. School authorities have confirmed that USC’s Sunday match against Long Beach State has sold out days before kickoff!

Expect the atmosphere at this game to be quite similar to that of Sierra Canyon High School, where Bronny spent several years. The King will undoubtedly be in the grandstand because the Lakers have the day off, but I wouldn’t be surprised if other NBA luminaries, celebrities, and singers also make their way to the Galen Center on Sunday.

In terms of expectations, I feel Bronny will and should use this game to reacquaint himself with the court. He had a huge health scare and had his favorite sport taken away from him for an extended period of time. It was always clear that he enjoys playing hard on both ends, and after a few weeks, we will see the same defensive-minded approach that he has displayed over the years.

USC won’t have to ask much of Bronny right now. Isaiah Collier and Boogie Ellis are the team’s primary ball-handlers right present, and each play more than 30 minutes per game. Expect the Young Prince to be limited in minutes on his debut, and at least a handful of slick scoring efforts.

The game is set to begin at 1 p.m. PST on Sunday… we’ll keep you posted if any fresh information becomes available before then!