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

LeBron James and Bronny James have officially become the first father and son to take the court together in the NBA on Tuesday evening during the Los Angeles Lakers’ season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena.

The duo entered the game together with four minutes left in the second quarter, prompting a huge ovation from the crowd who knew the magnitude of the milestone. LeBron had started the game and played 13 minutes before joining his 20-year-old son to make history.

LeBron James is the 39-year-old leading scorer in NBA history, when LeBron James Jr. They are the first father and son to play in the world’s top basketball league at the same time, let alone on the same team.

“Y’all ready? You see the intensity, right? Just play carefree, though,” the father told his son on the bench before they checked in, the exchange captured by TNT cameras and microphones. “Don’t worry about mistakes. Just go out 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 rolled early and missed the tip-in.

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

Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. was courtside in the Lakers’ downtown arena to witness the 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 Griffeys met during pregame warmups for some photos and a warm conversation between two incredible family lines.

LeBron, a four-time NBA champion and 20-time All-Star, first talked about his dream to play together with Bronny a few years ago, when his eldest son was still in high school. That dream came true after Bronny entered the draft as a teenager after one college season, and the Lakers grabbed him with the 55th overall pick.

“It’s healing,” LeBron said at Tuesday morning’s shootaround. “In preseason, practice, just every day … bring him up to what this professional life is all about, and how to prepare every day as a professional.”

LeBron and Bronny join a small club of father-son professional athletes who play together. The Griffeys made history 34 years ago, and they even played 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 with his two sons, Mark and Marty, with the Houston Eros and Team Canada WHA before the NHL season together with the Hartford Whalers in 1979-80, when Gordie was 51.

While other family couples on this list happened late in the father’s career, LeBron showed no signs of slowing down or regressing when he started the NBA’s record-tying 22nd season.

LeBron averaged more than 25 points per game last year for the 20th consecutive season, and he remains the Lakers’ most important player along with Anthony Davis as they try to recapture their championship-winning form in 2020 and reach the Western Conference finals. in 2023.

Bronny survived a heart attack and open heart surgery in the summer of 2023, and he played his truncated freshman season at the University of Southern California. He declared for the draft, 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 team that won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics, while Bronny played for the Lakers in the summer league. He started training together with the Lakers before training camp.

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

The Lakers are already aware of the history they will make with this pairing, and coach JJ Redick spoke with the Jameses recently about their plans for the start of the regular season.

The presence of Griffeys likely made it inevitable to open the night, although Redick said the Lakers still want to “happen naturally, in the flow of the game.”

The Lakers declined to speculate on how long Bronny would remain on an NBA roster. Los Angeles also has point guards D’Angelo Russell, Gabe Vincent and Jalen Hood-Schifino, who could create some minutes for Bronny, who needs regular playing time to raise his game to a consistent NBA standard.

These factors add up to the possibility that Bronny will join the South Bay Lakers affiliate of the G League at some point. LeBron and Redick have both spoken positively about the South Bay team, saying that player development is a key part of the Lakers organization.

Miami forward Kevin Love, who has known all of James’ children — Bronny, Bryce and Zhuri — since being teammates with LeBron James in Cleveland, said it was an “unbelievable moment” to see father and son play 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 a TV deal ($76 billion). The story line and things like this, it’s an unbelievable story. It’s really cool to see.”