Alijah Arenas, USC 5-star SG commit, placed in induced coma following 'serious car crash'

Alijah Arenas, the current USC Five-Star Plus+ shooting guard commit and son of former NBA guard Gilbert Arenas, has been hospitalized and placed into an induced coma following a “serious car crash,” according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.

According to Charania, the crash took place early Thursday morning.

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. Arenas, 18, is the son of former NBA star Gilbert Arenas.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 24, 2025

According to High School on SI’s Tarek Fattal, Arenas was driving a Tesla Cybertruck and “inhaled a lot of smoke” after the vehicle caught on fire. The smoke inhalation was the reason for the induced coma and Arenas “suffered no major bodily injuries,” Fattal reports.

More on Alijah Arenas

Arenas is one of the nation’s top 2025 high school basketball prospects, ranking No. 12 overall this cycle. He committed to in-state USC earlier this year on Jan. 30. He reclassified up from the 2026 cycle prior to committing.

A prolific scorer, Arenas has continued to earn high praise, averaging over 30 points per game during his senior season for Chatsworth. He is one of two commits in USC’s 2025 recruiting class to date.

“This season the 6-foot-5 guard is averaging 31.8 points on 54.8 percent shooting for Chatsworth (CA) High,” On3’s Jamie Shaw previously wrote of the five-star. “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.”

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.

Arenas’ father, Gilbert, spent a decade in the NBA and averaged over 20 points per game in his career. He was a three-time All-Star while playing for the Washington Wizards and also spent time with the Golden State Warriors, Orlando Magic and Memphis Grizzlies.

This story will be updated.