by PALM DESERT, Calif. – LeBron James and his son, Bronny, made NBA history Sunday night when they played together for the first time during the Los Angeles Lakers’ preseason game against Phoenix.
LeBron and Bronny are the first father and son to play in an NBA game at the same time, let alone on the same team. The James family’s remarkable moment happened to take place on Bronny’s 20th birthday.
Bronny James came into the game as a substitute to start the second quarter and joined his father on the field after the timeout. The crowd at Acrisure Arena in the Coachella Valley cheered at the mention of Bronny’s name.
LeBron James begins his record-breaking 22nd season in the NBA, while LeBron James Jr. – known to all as Bronny – was the Lakers’ second-round draft pick this summer. After recovering from cardiac arrest over a year ago, Bronny played just one season at the University of Southern California before entering the draft and joining the Lakers.
Bronny came free for a sub at 4:09 of the second quarter, and LeBron came out on the next dead ball 25 seconds later.
Although LeBron will turn 40 at the end of December, the leading scorer in NBA history shows no signs of slowing down as he gets older. He has spoken for years about his longtime dream of playing in the NBA with one of his sons, and the Lakers made it a reality when they took Bronny with the 55th pick in the draft.
The 6-foot-4 Bronny is expected to spend much of next season working on his game with the G League’s South Bay Lakers, but he will almost certainly be able to join his 6-foot-2 father in a real game to play. early in the regular season.
Head coach JJ Redick said the Lakers have already discussed the logistics of the next historic moment, but he did not predict when it will happen.
LeBron sat out the Lakers’ preseason opener against Minnesota last Friday night, resting after a full week of training camp following a busy summer. Bronny had two points on 1-for-6 shooting and three blocked shots while playing 16 minutes against the Timberwolves.
The Lakers have four more preseason games — all away from Los Angeles while their home arena is renovated — before starting the regular season at home against Minnesota on Oct. 22.
LeBron was early in his second NBA season with the Cleveland Cavaliers when he and his high school sweetheart, Savannah Brinson, became parents for the first time in 2004. They had two more children: son Bryce and daughter Zhuri.
LeBron and Bronny have been preparing for the chance to play together since LeBron returned from a summer vacation after winning a gold medal with the U.S. team at the Paris Olympics. Anthony Davis also made his preseason debut against the Suns after an equally busy summer.
The father and son have fought together repeatedly during practices at the Lakers’ training facility, both as teammates and as opponents. Redick said they even ran pick-and-rolls together in preparation.
In the regular season, they join a short list of fathers and sons who have shared a playing field in North American professional sports. Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. played with the Seattle Mariners during parts of the 1990 and 1991 MLB seasons, while hockey great Gordie Howe played with his sons Marty and Mark for the WHA’s Houston Eros and the NHL’s Hartford Whalers.
