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Son of Ex-NBA Star Placed into Induced Coma After Car Crash

18-year-old Alijah Arenas is a top prospect at USC.

Alijah Arenas, the 18-year-old son of ex-NBA star Gilbert Arenas and a basketball commit at the University of Southern California (USC), was placed in a medically induced coma following a car crash Thursday, ESPN reports. “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,” Shams Charania, the network’s senior NBA insider, wrote on X Thursday afternoon. TMZ reported that Alijah was driving his Tesla Cybertruck when the accident occurred at around 4:55 a.m. in Los Angeles. The outlet said that the vehicle was “completely mangled” on the side of the road based on images it obtained. The front of the car was also “ablaze.” Alijah committed to USC earlier this year and, as of December, was ranked the No. 1 shooting guard and No. 4 overall prospect in the 2026 class, according to ESPN. He requested to be reclassified into the 2025 class, which would enable him to become one of the top five available recruits in the country. His father, Gilbert, is a three-time NBA All-Star who played for various teams, including the Golden State Warriors and the Orlando Magic.