© Pamela Smith-Imagn Images
Gilbert Arenas’ son, Alijah, was involved in a scary car accident over the offseason that forced him to fall into a medically induced coma. His father provided an update while speaking with Dan Patrick this week.
Alijah Arenas is moving in a positive direction following the incident. He remains on track to attend USC after committing to the basketball program in January.
The car accident occurred two weeks prior. The Cybertruck that Arenas was driving was heavily damaged after hitting a fire hydrant and tree off the side off the road. The guard was trapped inside.
Alijah Arenas is in a coma after crashing his father’s cybertruck – crash scene photos show the force pic.twitter.com/AFOHWIFSY7
— Richard Winton (@LAcrimes) April 25, 2025
The 2026 recruit was taken to the hospital in “stable condition” though emergency personnel would later induce that coma to keep him calm during recovery.
Alijah Arenas is a Top 5 player in the upcoming recruiting cycle. He made a pledge to play for Eric Musselman and the Trojans over a final group of Arizona, Kansas, Louisville, and Kentucky.
His future rivalry with UCLA was the first thing on his mind upon waking up.
Gilbert Arenas shared an update on his son, 5-star USC commit Alijah Arenas, following a car accident 2 weeks ago. pic.twitter.com/O9LEZV5cGl
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) May 6, 2025
“My thing was making sure there were no broken limbs, there were no burns,” Gilbert Arenas recalled on the Dan Patrick Show. “Lucky for him, trapped inside a car for so long – he’s lucky there were bystanders that heard the crash that early in the morning that got him out.
“He was a little stronger than [medical personnel] thought. He was waking up going crazy, so they put him in an induced coma just to get the air… They were getting the smoke and all that out of his lungs. He was in the car 10-12 minutes, just inhaling that.”
Alijah Arenas then provided some humor amid the scary situation after finding out his was in a UCLA hospital.
“Tell Muss I’m sorry I’m at UCLA!”
-Alijah Arenas
The rivalry quip was certainly a positive sign for the guard as he begins his road to recovery. He was released from the hospital a week ago and appears to be in good spirits.