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Former Lakers player Ronny Turiaf condoled with the James family over Bronny James' collapse and cardiac arrest on Monday. If there's anyone who knows what it is like to have a life-threatening condition and still played in the NBA, it's Ronny Turiaf.
The James family received an outpour of support from all corners after the news broke but only few people know how scary such an incident is. Ronny Turiaf has lived through such a traumatic experience. In a post on Instagram, Turiaf stated in his caption:
"If Bronny ever wants to talk, I'm sure that I'll be more than happy to talk to him."
When he offered his support to Bronny James, not many people knew what qualified him to make such a statement. After being drafted by the Lakers in 2005, a routine medical examination found an enlarged aortic root in Turiaf's heart.
His contract was voided by the Lakers and he underwent open-heart surgery, a complicated procedure that took six hours. Miraculously, he was back playing for the Lakers in less than six months.
He definitely qualifies as a credible voice on the Bronny James' matter.
Ronny Turiaf's career
Ronny Turiaf attended the National Institute of Physical Education in Paris, France. In 2000, he won gold with the French U18 team at the FIBA Europe U-18 championship.
Turiaf played for the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the WCC (Western Coast Conference) and was a first-team All-WCC for three consecutive years as a player there. He was also the conference's top scorer in his last season leading to him being the WCC Player of the Year.
He declared for the 2005 draft and was picked No. 37 by the Los Angeles Lakers. His open-heart surgery and subsequent recovery led to him playing for the Lakers for 3 years.
The player also won the NBA title with the Miami Heat in 2012 and went on to play for various teams including the Warriors, Clippers and Timberwolves.
Bronny James' basketball future
As soon as the news of Bronny James being stable broke, basketball fans' attentions turned to whether he would still be able to play basketball.
A five-star recruit who committed to USC, Bronny James is expected to be a one-and-done prospect before declaring for the NBA draft in 2024. It has been widely speculated that whichever team picks him will also land LeBron James.
Several top-level athletes have had cardiac arrests and still played at that level. The most notable being NFL star Damar Hamlin who had an incident in January and now is back training.
Danny Berger also had a cardiac arrest during training for USU in 2012 and went on to have a successful basketball career in Germany.
Hopefully, Bronny James has the same luck and gets to play in the NBA alongside LeBron.
