Who is Alijah Arenas and What happened to him? Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas son in coma following accident

Alijah Arenas, is a five star recruit who had previously comitted to play for the USC Trojans. According to TMZ, Arenas, who is also the son of former NBA legend Gilbert Arenas was involved in a car accident on Thursday.

Alijah Arenas was driving a Tesla Cybertruck on Thursday when the car crashed into a fire hydrant and a tree on the side of the road. At this moment, the exact cause of the crash is yet to be determined, Arenas and the other passengers were able to get out of the car, before emergency services arrived. According to TMZ, the star player did not suffer any broken bones, but was placed in a medically induced coma by the first responders who arrived at the scene. Later in the day, he was said to be in stable condition.

More about Alijah Arenas, as five star recruit was involved in car accident

Alijah Arenas is a high school basketball superstar, who attends Chatsworth High School in L.A. In 2025, he became one of the few players across the country to be selected to take part in McDonalds All American Game, which took place at Barclays Center in New York earlier this month.

On Thursday early morning, he and few others were driving around the L.A neighborhood when the crash took place. Eric Musselman, the Head Coach of the Men's Basketball team, posted a message of support on X (formerly Twitter), hoping for his quick recovery.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with Alijah and his family following this morning's accident. Please keep him, his teammates and friends, and the entire Arenas family in your prayers."

Alijah Arenas, who has 3,000 career points, was considered to be of one the best prospects, where he was the thirteenth ranked recruit, even after reclassification, according to ESPN Sports.

Alijah comes from a sporting family. His father, Gilbert Arenas, was an All American point guard, having had a long and illustrious NBA career, while his sister, Izela Arenas, had committed to Louisville last year, and now plays for the Louisville Carndinals.

Alijah Arenas' mother, Laura Govan, who also once played for New Mexico State, posted a message on her Instagram asking everyone to pray for her son's fast recovery. She wrote.

“I need all youre f**ken prayers 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼.”

In a 2024 interview with Forbes, Arenas had shared how he hoped to keep improving his game and remain consistent, rather than aiming to be the best.

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“I have to know my routine, I have to take my time, I have to focus and hone in on that. I feel like on the defensive end, I feel like that's just helpful. I feel like I'm not looking to be the greatest at defense or even the greatest on offense. I feel like no matter what you do, I feel like hustle matters the most. I'm trying to really stay consistent on giving a hundred every single time.”

Alijah Arenas, was set to appear in the Gil's Arena podcast on Thursday, but in light of the accident, the episode has been canceled.

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