Sudden cardiac arrest is a basketball problem

And there’s something we can do about it

BY HENRY ABBOTT

Bronny James before Game 3 between the Lakers and Warriors in the second round of the 2023 playoffs. His dad scored 21 that night, and the Lakers won by 30 to advance to the Western Conference finals. RONALD MARTINEZ/GETTY IMAGES 

When Bronny James collapsed, his chances of dying eclipsed 90 percent. Those are the odds for anyone whose heart stops outside a hospital. 18-year-old hearts aren’t supposed to stop. His entire family must be in shock and has rightfully asked for privacy.

I’m a parent of teenagers. If this happened at our house, I could see emerging from it on the warpath—digging into the research, talking to experts, and trying to make sure other families don’t have to go through the same thing. 

And that’s where the conversation takes a turn: You don’t have to get too far down the research rabbit hole to discover that performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) are powerful contributors to young athletes dying.

According to a 2017 article by researchers André La Gerche a…