Bronny James Cleared for Full Return to USC Basketball After Cardiac Arrest

Bronny James has been cleared to return to the basketball court.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium shared a statement Thursday from a James family spokesperson that revealed the USC freshman now has a clear timeline to return to the floor following the cardiac arrest he suffered in July:

"Bronny James is now cleared by his doctors for a full return to basketball. Bronny will have a final evaluation with USC staff this week, resume practice next week, and return to games soon after. The James family would like to express their gratitude to the incredible medical team, the entire USC community, and especially the countless friends, family, and fans for their love and support."

Things have seemingly been trending in this direction based on multiple updates from NBA great LeBron James, who is Bronny's father.

"Bronny is doing extremely well," LeBron said in October, per ESPN's Myron Medcalf. "He has begun his rehab process to get back on the floor this season with his teammates at USC. The successful surgery that he had ... he's on the up and up. It's definitely a whirlwind and a lot of emotions for our family this summer, but the best thing we have is each other."

He used similar language in an update earlier this month:

The James family released a statement in August revealing a congenital heart defect was the likely cause of the cardiac arrest. Even that statement said the expectation was Bronny would return to the court "in the very near future."

While the younger James may still be best known because of his famous father, he was a 5-star prospect in his own right, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

His return will provide an immediate boost to a Trojans team that is 5-2 on the season with wins over Kansas State and Seton Hall but losses to Oklahoma and UC Irvine. It is scheduled to face Gonzaga in a highly anticipated matchup on Saturday.

The Trojans' Pac-12 conference schedule starts on Dec. 28 with a road game at Oregon.