Alijah Arenas update: Positive news emerges on USC commit after horrific car accident

Good news came Monday on USC signee Alijah Arenas, who was hospitalized this past week after a car accident. According to Josiah Johnson, who co-hosts the Gil’s Arena podcast with Arenas’ father, former NBA player Gilbert Arenas, Alijah is “doing much better” as he is now awake and talking as well as walking.

Alijah Arenas was placed in an induced coma after the crash as a result of smoke inhalation. Tarek Fattal of Sports Illustrated reported at the time of the accident that Arenas did not suffer any serious bodily injuries. He is expected to be released from the hospital soon.

“We need to announce that Alijah is doing much better,” Johnson said on Monday’s episode of Gil’s Arena. “Just got off the phone with Gil about five minutes ago. Alijah’s doing better. Walking, talking very well. Should be released from the hospital very soon. No major injuries as a result of the accident.”

TMZ obtained a video of moments following the wreck involving Arenas. He was ripped away from a Tesla Cybertruck, which was in flames. Arenas was then spotted rolling around in a puddle.

A fire hydrant was going off due to the crash. First responders were shown in the distance toward the end of the video as well. Thankfully, it appears he will make a full recovery after the scary incident and will now focus on getting back into game shape ahead of his true freshman season.

More on Alijah Arenas

Alijah Arenas is a five-star prospect who played high school basketball at Chatsworth (CA). He ranks as the No. 12 overall player and No. 3 shooting guard in the 2025 cycle according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

“Arenas, the son of former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas, announced he was reclassifying from the 2026 class into the 2025 class this past January,” On3’s Jamie Shaw said in a scouting report. “This season the 6-foot-5 guard is averaging 31.8 points on 54.8 percent shooting for Chatsworth (CA) High.

“Arenas is coming off a strong showing at the USA Basketball Junior National Team mini-camp and proved his scoring chops in the Adidas 3SSB Circuit 17U Finale averaging 21.7 points on 48.0 percent shooting from three for the week. Arenas debuted in the 2025 On3 150 at No. 10 when he reclassified in January and moved to No. 7 in this recent update.”

Arenas has earned multiple honors throughout his high school career, including being named a McDonald’s All-American. In December, he broke the single-game scoring record at The Classic at Damien event, scoring 56 points at the high-profile California tournament.