Alijah Arenas. Photo:
Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty
Alijah Arenas, the 18-year-old son of former NBA star Gilbert Arenas and a top prospect at USC, has been placed in a medically induced coma following a car crash on Thursday, April 24, according to ESPN.
Senior NBA insider Shams Charania of ESPN reported, “Five-star prospect and USC commit Alijah Arenas was involved in a serious car crash early Thursday morning, hospitalized and placed into an induced coma, sources tell ESPN.”
According to TMZ, Alijah was driving his Tesla Cybertruck when the accident occurred around 4:55 a.m. in Los Angeles.
Alijah committed to USC earlier this year. As of December 2024, he was ranked both the No. 4 player and No. 1 shooting guard in the class of 2026. That month, he requested to be reclassified to become a senior and graduate in 2025.
Alijah and Gilbert Arenas on March 9, 2024. Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty
Gilbert is the host of the popular podcast Gil’s Arena and shares four kids with his ex Laura Govan: Izela, Alijah, Hamiley and Aloni. Gilbert also shares a daughter Gia with his ex-girlfriend Lindsey Faulk.
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Earlier this month, Alijah and his father participated in an interview with creator Trey Phills at the McDonald’s All-American Game. “Our personalities are a little the same,” Alijah said of him and his father. “I feel like that’s my dad’s dream too, that I could get to that level.”
Alijah Arenas plays basketball on April 1, 2025. Natasha Campos/Getty
Gilbert added, “It’s very surprising watching him actually dive into the game, you know, physically, mentally,” of his son.
On NBA superstar Paul George’s Podcast P, Gilbert elaborated on how he coaches his son. “Ain’t no days off … We get 3 [hundred or] 400 shots up before school,” he said. “He’s coachable … depending on what day it is in the mornings we’ll get up at like 5:30 so he [practices] an hour and a half. [He goes to school, comes home and then] works out and we got lifting right after and then we got more shooting, more dribbling.”
