Following a serious car crash in April and knee injury, the son of former NBA star Gilbert Arenas will reportedly miss his freshman season at USC.
Top USC commit Alijah Arenas, the son of former NBA star Gilbert Arenas, is "in jeopardy" of missing the entire 2025-26 college basketball season, Chris Haynes reported Wednesday.
The former Chatsworth High School star, who reclassified from the 2026 class to the 2025 class, was set to begin his Trojans career this upcoming season. However, after being involved in a serious car crash in April, Arenas was set to miss an extended period for his freshman year. It was already going to be a tough battle to get healthy, but now a knee injury could have him looking forward to 2026.
Arenas headlined USC's 2025 recruiting class as a consensus five-star prospect and the No. 7 overall 2025 prospect by the 247Sports Composite.
📲 Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp
Here's more on Arenas' injury and his timetable for a return to action as he begins his college basketball career.
Alijah Arenas injury update
Haynes reported Wednesday that Arenas had suffered a torn meniscus, which puts him "in jeopardy" of missing USC's entire 2025-26 season.
BREAKING: USC’s prized recruit Alijah Arenas has suffered a tear of the meniscus, putting him in jeopardy of missing the entire 2025-26 college basketball season, league sources tell me. pic.twitter.com/c4F76sVqtv
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) July 23, 2025
Haynes then added that Arenas' official timetable is estimated at 6-8 months.
Early in 2025, Arenas officially committed to USC over schools such as Arizona, Kansas, and Kentucky. As a 6-7 wing, he was a consensus five-star recruit who was set to become a centerpiece for USC head coach Eric Musselman immediately.
While it's unknown if the knee injury for the upcoming Trojans star was related to his April car accident, Arenas is now set to recover from his injury for the better part of a year.
Alijah Arenas car accident
Not long after he appeared in the McDonald's All-American Game a few months ago, Arenas crashed his Tesla Cybertruck into a tree and fire hydrant in a Los Angeles neighborhood, an accident that put him in an induced coma for around a day.
After being taken to the hospital, Arenas showed "significant signs of progress," ESPN's Shams Charania reported. Arenas reportedly did not suffer any broken bones in the accident, and a few days later, his condition had improved to the point that he was "walking, talking, progressing, [and] doing very well."
Almost a week after the car crash, Arenas was released from the hospital, with his family noting his "road ahead" for full recovery.
In the months since then, there haven't been many updates on Arenas, but he was seen at USC facilities in June:
5-foot-5 assistant coach Earl Boykins next to 6-foot-6 true freshman Alijah Arenas. pic.twitter.com/5M5ds2moks
— Connor Morrissette (@C_Morrissette) June 24, 2025
MORE:Full details from Alijah Arenas' car crash in April
When will Alijah Arenas be in the NBA Draft?
Arenas reclassified from the 2026 high school class to 2025, which allowed him to commit to USC for the 2025-26 season. Initially, he was expected to be one of the top prospects for the 2026 NBA Draft.
Various sites that are already eyeing the 2026 draft, including NBA Draft Room and NBA Draft.net, included Arenas as a mid-first-round level prospect based on projections.
However, with the setbacks that Arenas has faced in recent months, he'll be heavily expected to remain at USC for at least one more season, although his official decision there remains to be seen.
Alijah Arenas father
Alijah Arenas' father is Gilbert Arenas, a three-time NBA All-Star who primarily played for the Wizards and now hosts his podcast/show, "Gil's Arena."
Category: General Sports
