Gilbert Arenas canceled his Gil’s Arena livestream show on Thursday after news broke that his son, five-star recruit and USC commit Alijah Arenas, had been put into a medically induced coma following a serious car accident.
At the same time that Gilbert Arenas rose to become one of the most prominent voices in NBA media, Alijah was working to achieve his hoop dreams. While leading Chatsworth High School to the Division II state championship game in 2025, Alijah Arenas became the 13th overall recruit in the ESPN 100 rankings and committed to USC in January.
Midday on Thursday, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Alijah was involved in a single-car crash at around 5 a.m. in the greater Los Angeles area. Citing the public information officer at the L.A. Fire Department, Charania reported that Alijah was found outside the vehicle after it collided with a tree and fire hydrant. While Charania added that Alijah was not believed to suffer broken bones, his maladies were seemingly bad enough to force emergency responders to induce a coma.
L.A.-based high school sports reporter Tarek Fattal clarified that Alijah was placed in a coma due to severe effects from smoke inhalation after his vehicle caught fire.
While Arenas was originally scheduled to go live with the Gil’s Arena crew at 11:35 a.m. PT, the show’s social media accounts posted a message shortly before noon, indicating that the show had been canceled.
No show today. pic.twitter.com/ewywe52CPu
— Gil’s Arena (@GilsArenaShow) April 24, 2025
Later, Underdog Fantasy, which sponsors and licenses Gil’s Arena, posted a message of support for the Arenas family:
“Our hearts are with our friend and Underdog partner Gilbert Arenas in this difficult moment. We ask the Gil’s Arena and Underdog communities to please keep Alijah and the entire family in your thoughts.”
Our hearts are with our friend and Underdog partner Gilbert Arenas in this difficult moment.
We ask the Gil’s Arena and Underdog communities to please keep Alijah and the entire family in your thoughts.
— Underdog (@Underdog) April 24, 2025
As of 1 p.m. PT, Arenas had not issued a statement.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.