LeBron and Bronny James make history as the NBA’s first father-son duo to play together

AP Sports Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) – 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 entered the game together with four minutes left in the second quarter, prompting a standing ovation from a home crowd aware of the enormity of the milestone. LeBron had already started the game and played 13 minutes before teaming up with his 20-year-old son to make history.

LeBron James is the 39-year-old leading scorer in NBA history, while LeBron James Jr. he was a second-round pick by the Lakers last summer. They are the first father and son to play in the world’s biggest basketball league at the same time, let alone on the same team.

“You’re all set? You see the intensity, right? Just play with no worries though,” the father told his son before checking in, an exchange caught on TNT’s cameras and microphones. “Don’t worry about mistakes. Just go out there and play hard.”

LeBron and Bronny played 2 1/2 minutes on the court together, and LeBron missed two perimeter shots before making a dunk. Bronny had an early bounce and missed a spike.

Bronny’s first NBA jump shot was a 3-pointer that fell just short. He exited with 1:19 left in the second quarter, receiving another standing ovation.

Ken Griffey Mr. and Ken Griffey Jr. they were courtside at the Lakers’ downtown arena to witness the same history they did 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 Griffeys got together during pregame warmups for some photos and a warm chat between two notable family lines.

LeBron, a four-time NBA champion and 20-time All-Star, first talked about his dream of playing alongside Bronny a few years ago, while his oldest son was still in high school. The dream came true after Bronny entered the draft as a teenager after one college 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, and even homered in the same game on September 14, 1990.

Baseball Hall of Famer Tim Raines and his namesake son also accomplished the feat with the Baltimore Orioles in 2001.

In hockey, Gordie Howe played alongside his two sons, Mark and Marty, with the Houston Eros and Team Canada of the WHA before an NHL season together on the Hartford Whalers in 1979-80, when Gordie was 51 years

While the other family pairings on this list occurred late in their parents’ careers, LeBron shows no signs of slowing down or regressing as he enters his NBA-record 22nd season.

LeBron averaged over 25 points per game last year for his 20th straight season, and remains the Lakers’ most important player alongside Anthony Davis as they try to regain their championship-winning form in 2020 and led them to the Western Conference Finals. in 2023.

Bronny survived cardiac arrest and open-heart surgery in the summer of 2023, and went on to play a truncated freshman season at the University of Southern California. He declared for the draft anyway, and the Lakers eagerly used the fourth-to-last pick in the draft on the 6-foot-2 guard.

LeBron spent the summer in Europe with the US gold medal winning team at the Paris Olympics, while Bronny played with the Lakers in summer league. They began practicing together with the Lakers before training camp.

“It’s been fun,” LeBron said at Tuesday morning’s shootaround. “In the pre-season, training, just every day … it brought him up to speed on what this pro life is and how to prepare every day as a pro.”

The duo played together for the first time in the preseason, logging four minutes during a game against Phoenix outside Palm Springs earlier this month.

The Lakers were fully aware of the history they would make with this pairing, and coach JJ Redick recently spoke with the Jameses about a plan to make it happen early in the regular season.

The Griffeys’ presence likely made it inevitable for opening night, though Redick said the Lakers still wanted it to “happen naturally, in the flow of the game.”

The Lakers have declined to speculate on how long Bronny will remain on their NBA roster. Los Angeles also has point guards D’Angelo Russell, Gabe Vincent and Jalen Hood-Schifino, which likely means minutes will be scarce for Bronny, who likely needs regular playing time to elevate his game to a consistent league standard. N.B.A.

These factors add up to indicate that Bronny is likely to end up with the G League affiliate South Bay Lakers at some point soon. LeBron and Redick have spoken positively about the South Bay team, saying player development is a key part of the Lakers’ organization.

Miami forward Kevin Love, who met all of 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 playing together.

“I grew up a Mariners fan, so I got to see 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 this TV deal ($76 billion). The stories and the things that happen like that, it’s an incredible story. That’s really cool to see.”

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AP basketball writer Tim Reynolds in Miami contributed.

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