Gilbert Arenas Talks About Son Alijah’s Automotive Crash With Dan Patrick

After a terrifying automotive 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. Almost two weeks in the past, Gilbert Arenas lived that second.

His son, Alijah — a five-star recruit, a 16-year-old phenom with USC goals — was in a medically induced coma after a horrific automotive crash. The previous NBA All-Star might solely watch, wait, and hope. After which, remarkably, the story turned. From silence, got here breath. From worry, a second likelihood.

A Father’s Worst Morning

It started like every 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 health club, it stated. All good. However then his daughter walked in, and the world shifted.

“You haven’t heard?” she requested.

No mother or father desires 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 automotive accident 2 weeks in the past. pic.twitter.com/O9LEZV5cGl

— Dan Patrick Present (@dpshow) Might 6, 2025

Gilbert sprinted to the hospital, questions flying by means of his thoughts, panic in his chest. Was it his automotive? Was it even Alijah? The app had misled him. The health club 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 Automotive 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. Docs 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 drugs 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, presents no conventional door handles. Powerless, its doorways are inconceivable to open from the skin.

However by some means, these bystanders received 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 stated, “trapped within a automotive for thus lengthy, it’s fortunate there have been those who heard it that early.”

Alijah was disoriented and preventing. His energy — the identical drive that made him a high recruit — made him thrash awake. Docs 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 might have been far totally different. In a second that would’ve ended every thing, it was humanity — fast, quiet, selfless — that made all of the distinction.

The Snort That Signaled Therapeutic

Restoration can take many types. For Alijah, it wasn’t a step or a breath that signaled hope — it was a joke.

Mendacity in a hospital below 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 snigger was every thing.

Children nowadays 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 Automotive Crash With Dan Patrick

Alijah had simply wrapped up his junior 12 months 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 residence with USC. His future was mapped out — court docket goals, brilliant 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 typically, being No. 4 within the nation is way much less vital than having the ability to look your father within the eyes — and smile.