After a terrifying automobile crash, Gilbert Arenas shares emotional particulars on son Alijah’s restoration and the heroes who saved him.
There are moments when the sport stops. When rankings and recruiting buzz dissolve into the background, and all that issues is breath, heartbeat, and the sound of a father operating towards his son. Practically two weeks in the past, Gilbert Arenas lived that second.
His son, Alijah — a five-star recruit, a 16-year-old phenom with USC desires — was in a medically induced coma after a horrific automobile crash. The previous NBA All-Star may solely watch, wait, and hope. After which, remarkably, the story turned. From silence, got here breath. From concern, a second probability.
A Father’s Worst Morning
It started like some other morning within the Arenas family — early and routine. Gilbert, all the time vigilant, opened the Tesla app to test the place Alijah was. The fitness center, it mentioned. All good. However then his daughter walked in, and the world shifted.
“You haven’t heard?” she requested.
No guardian needs to listen to these phrases. Not at 4:30 a.m. Not ever.
Gilbert Arenas shared an replace on his son, 5-star USC commit Alijah Arenas, following a automobile accident 2 weeks in the past. pic.twitter.com/O9LEZV5cGl
— Dan Patrick Present (@dpshow) Could 6, 2025
Gilbert sprinted to the hospital, questions flying by his thoughts, panic in his chest. Was it his automobile? Was it even Alijah? The app had misled him. The fitness center location was false. In reality, Alijah was unconscious, having been trapped inside his mangled Tesla Cybertruck after veering off the highway, hitting a fireplace hydrant, and colliding with a tree.
Gilbert Arenas Talks About Son Alijah’s Automobile Crash With Dan Patrick
His accidents weren’t seen — no damaged limbs, no burns. However smoke, insidious and silent, had crammed the cabin, and Alijah had inhaled it for almost 10 minutes. He was alive, however struggling to breathe. Medical doctors positioned him in a medically induced coma to stabilize him, to let his lungs heal. Gilbert, helpless however hopeful, waited beside his son.
It was the longest wait of his life. After which, slowly, Alijah started to wake.
Angels on the Roadside
It wasn’t simply machines and medication that saved Alijah. It was strangers — or as Gilbert calls them, “angels.”
Within the early morning stillness, a small group of bystanders heard the crash. They might have stayed in mattress, dismissing the noise. However they didn’t. They adopted the sound and located a scene of devastation. The Cybertruck, with its futuristic design, affords no conventional door handles. Powerless, its doorways are inconceivable to open from the skin.
However one way or the other, these bystanders bought to Alijah. They pulled him from the wreck. They gave him an opportunity earlier than first responders ever arrived.
Gilbert continues to be in awe. “Fortunate for him,” he mentioned, “trapped inside a automobile for thus lengthy, it’s fortunate there have been folks that heard it that early.”
Alijah was disoriented and preventing. His energy — the identical pressure that made him a prime recruit — made him thrash awake. Medical doctors sedated him to guard him, to deal with the smoke injury, to assist his lungs.
However with out these early heroes, Gilbert is aware of the result may have been far completely different. In a second that might’ve ended every part, it was humanity — fast, quiet, selfless — that made all of the distinction.
The Snort That Signaled Therapeutic
Restoration can take many kinds. For Alijah, it wasn’t a step or a breath that signaled hope — it was a joke.
Mendacity in a hospital beneath the UCLA medical umbrella, Alijah cracked a smile and instructed his dad: “Inform Mus I’m sorry I’m at UCLA.” Humor. Presence. The essence of a teen coming again into his personal.
For Gilbert, that giggle was every part.
Youngsters as of late neglect that Gilbert arenas was truly good within the league and never simply humorous on social media lmao pic.twitter.com/jEFEDoRtdt
— John (@iam_johnw) April 8, 2020
Gilbert Arenas Talks About Son Alijah’s Automobile Crash With Dan Patrick
Alijah had simply wrapped up his junior yr at Chatsworth Excessive. The 6-foot-6 guard was one of the coveted prospects within the nation, courted by blue bloods like Kentucky and Kansas earlier than selecting to remain house with USC. His future was mapped out — courtroom desires, vivid lights, nationwide levels.
And but, none of that mattered greater than a single breath. Than waking up. Than joking with dad.
He’ll return to basketball — that a lot appears sure now. The physique is therapeutic. The spirit by no means left. However what lingers isn’t his Rivals rating or his dedication standing. It’s the reminder that life, for all its promise, is fragile. And that generally, being No. 4 within the nation is much much less necessary than having the ability to look your father within the eyes — and smile.
