LeBron James and Bronny James became the first father and son to play together in the NBA on Tuesday night during the Los Angeles Lakers’ season opener.
LeBron and Bronny checked into the game together with four minutes left in the second quarter, prompting an ovation from the home crowd aware of the enormity of the milestone. LeBron had already started the game and played 13 minutes before making history with his 20-year-old son.
LeBron James is the 39-year-old leading scorer in NBA history, while LeBron James Jr was picked in the second round by the Lakers last summer. They are the first father and son to play in the world’s best basketball league at the same time, let alone on the same team.
“You’re all ready? You see the intensity, right? But just play carefree,” Dad said to his son on the couch before they checked in. ‘Don’t worry about mistakes. Just go out there and play hard.”
LeBron and Bronny played together on the court for just under three minutes, and LeBron missed two perimeter shots before making a dunk. Bronny had an early rebound and missed a tip-in. Bronny’s first NBA jump shot was a three-pointer that fell just short. He checked out with 1:19 left in the second quarter and received another ovation.
Ken Griffey Sr and Ken Griffey Jr stood courtside to witness the same history they made in Major League Baseball. The two sluggers played 51 games together for the Seattle Mariners in 1990 and 1991 as baseball’s first father-son duo. The Jameses and the Griffeys met during pre-game warmups for photos and conversation between two notable family lines.
LeBron, a four-time NBA champion and 20-time All-Star, first spoke about his dream of playing alongside Bronny a few years ago while his eldest son was still in high school. The dream became a reality after Bronny entered the draft as a teenager after one collegiate season, and the Lakers took him with the 55th overall pick.
LeBron and Bronny joined a small club of father-son professional athletes who played together. The Griffeys made history 34 years ago, even homering in the same game in September 1990. Baseball Hall of Famer Tim Raines and his eponymous son also accomplished the feat with the Baltimore Orioles in 2001. In ice hockey, Gordie Howe played alongside his team. two sons, Mark and Marty, with the WHA’s Houston Eros and Team Canada before having an NHL season together with the Hartford Whalers in 1979-80, when Gordie was 51.
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While the other family combinations on the list happened late in the fathers’ careers, LeBron shows no signs of slowing down or declining as he enters his career-record 22nd NBA career. Last year he averaged more than 25 points per game for his 20th straight season, and he remains the Lakers’ most important player alongside Anthony Davis as they try to recapture the form that won a championship in 2020 and took them to the Finals the Western Conference. in 2023.
Bronny survived cardiac arrest and open-heart surgery in the summer of 2023, and he played a truncated freshman season at the University of Southern California. He declared for the draft anyway, and the Lakers eagerly took the fourth-to-last pick on the 6-foot-1 guard.
LeBron spent the summer in Europe with the gold medal-winning U.S. team at the Paris Olympics, while Bronny played for the Lakers in the summer league. They started practicing together with the Lakers before heading to training camp.
“It was a treat,” LeBron said during shootaround Tuesday morning. “In the preseason there are the training sessions, just every day… to get him up to speed on what professional life is about, and how to prepare every day as a professional.”
The duo played together for the first time in preseason, logging four minutes against Phoenix earlier this month.
The Lakers were fully aware of the history they would make with this combination, and coach JJ Redick recently spoke with the Jameses about a plan to make it happen early in the regular season. The Griffeys’ presence made it inevitable for opening night, even though Redick said the Lakers still wanted it to happen “naturally, over the course of the game.”
The Lakers have declined to speculate on how long Bronny will remain on their NBA roster. They also have point guards D’Angelo Russell, Gabe Vincent and Jalen Hood-Schifino, which will likely make minutes scarce for Bronny, who needs regular playing time with the Lakers’ G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers, to improve his game to take it to a higher level. a consistent NBA standard. LeBron and Redick have both spoken positively about the South Bay team, saying player development is an important part of the Lakers organization.
Miami’s Kevin Love, who knew all the James children — Bronny, Bryce and Zhuri — from his time as LeBron James’ teammate in Cleveland, said it was “an incredible moment” to see father and son play together.
“I grew up a Mariners fan, so I saw Griffey and then Griffey Sr. But this is different because LeBron is still a top five player in the league,” Love said. “This game, man. That’s why we have that TV deal ($76 billion). The storylines and the things that happen this way, it’s an incredible story. This is really cool to see.”