LOS ANGELES — As LeBron James and Bronny James walked from the scorer’s table onto the court late in the second quarter of the Lakers’ season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves, they also walked their way into history.
LeBron and Bronny became the first father and son to play simultaneously in an NBA game on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena.
And they did it as teammates, checking in together.
LeBron and Bronny checked into the game together with four minutes left in the second quarter, prompting a big ovation from a home crowd aware of the enormity of the milestone. LeBron had already started the game and played 13 minutes before he teamed up with his son to make history.
“Y’all ready? You see the intensity, right? Just play carefree, though,” father told son on the bench before they checked in, an exchange captured by the TNT cameras and microphones. “Don’t worry about mistakes. Just go out and play hard.”
They played 2½ minutes on court together, 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 3-point attempt that came up just short. He checked out with 1:19 left in the second quarter, getting another ovation.
They both missed shots that would have counted as assists from the other during their brief time together on the court.
While saying that the moment they first shared the court didn’t need to happen on the league’s opening night, the elder James said during the team’s morning shootaround that the process to the moment he shared with his son has been a “treat.”
“Just in preseason, the practices, just every day,” LeBron said. “Just bringing him up to speed of what this professional life is all about and how to prepare every day as a professional.”
LeBron and Bronny also shared the court during the preseason in an exhibition game against the Phoenix Suns on Oct. 6 in Palm Desert , playing four minutes alongside one another.
But this was different because it was officially recorded in the record books.
LeBron, the 39-year-old four-time league MVP who is in his 22nd season, spent time Tuesday morning reflecting on the journey that Bronny went through leading into Tuesday.
Bronny, 20, suffered a cardiac arrest during a workout in July 2023 and had surgery before making his return to the court and college debut with USC in a Dec. 10 loss to Long Beach State.
Six months after his collegiate debut, the Lakers selected Bronny with the No. 55 pick in the NBA draft in June.
“When he’s able to grace an NBA floor, if that’s [Tuesday] or whenever the case may be, it’ll be another one of those moments just to know the adversity that he went through,” LeBron said. “I’ve had a couple of family members that have had heart surgeries. And to know how long it takes to get back to yourself, to see him be able to play in a college Division I game the same year that he had heart surgery was, like, a ‘wow’ moment.
“And I knew that at that moment that there was really going to be nothing to stop him from getting to this – to anything that he wants to do. And I wanted to continue to play basketball.”
Bronny said on Monday he hasn’t been able to reflect on his journey yet.
“I don’t feel like there will be time to do all that,” Bronny said. “Especially when you’re checking in the heat of the moment, so, I’ll probably take time to do that afterwards.”
There was another famous father-son duo in attendance for the history LeBron and Bronny made.
Ken Griffey Jr. and Ken Griffey Sr. were at Tuesday’s game, following through with the younger Griffey’s comment to “People” magazine last summer that they would be in attendance if the James played together.
The Griffeys became the first father-son teammates in MLB history with the Seattle Mariners in 1990.
“I’ve been a big-time fan of Ken Griffey Jr. and then became a friend of Ken Griffey Jr. throughout my professional career,” LeBron said. “Just understanding the history of sports to be able to see what they were able to do going to do … to be here [Tuesday] and to know that those guys will be in attendance while me and Bronny are on the same team is a pretty cool moment in [the] history of sports.”
The Jameses and the Griffeys met up during pregame warmups for some photos and a warm chat between two remarkable family lines.
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LeBron and Bronny joined a small club of father-son professional athletes who played together. The Griffeys made history 34 years ago, and they even homered in the same game on Sept. 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 WHA’s Houston Aeros and Team Canada before one NHL season together on the Hartford Whalers in 1979-80, when Gordie was 51.
The Lakers have declined to speculate on how long Bronny will stay on their NBA roster. The team also has point guards D’Angelo Russell, Gabe Vincent and Jalen Hood-Schifino, which likely makes minutes scarce for Bronny, who likely needs regular playing time to raise his game to a consistent NBA standard.
Those factors indicate Bronny is likely to end up with the South Bay Lakers of the G League at some point soon. LeBron and Redick have both spoken positively about the South Bay team, saying that player development is a key part of the Lakers’ organization.
LeBron and Bronny share the NBA stage for the FIRST time 👑 pic.twitter.com/Z2zvAnR3YW
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) October 23, 2024
"Just play carefree"
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) October 23, 2024
LeBron was mic'd up next to Bronny on the bench 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/x3uKYIt6YX