LeBron James and his son, Bronny, are the first father-son duo in NBA history.
The Lakers teammates shared the court together in the second quarter of Tuesday’s opener against the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves, where mother Savannah and Bronny’s siblings Zhuri and Bryce was also on hand.
The two actually checked onto the court together after a stoppage in play, allowing fans to applaud the NBA legend and his son, a rookie second-round pick out of Southern California.
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, left, and guard Bronny James warm up Tuesday
No father-and-son duo has ever taken the court at the same time in an NBA game, and it’s rare for any major North American sport.
In the 1970s and ’80s, hockey legend Gordie Howe played with sons Marty and Mark with the WHA’s Houston Aeros and the NHL’s Hartford Whalers. Then there were Baseball Hall of Famer Tim Raines and his namesake, who played four games together with the Baltimore Orioles in 2001.
More significantly, Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. were teammates with the Seattle Mariners in 1990 and 1991. In fact, the pair actually hitting back-to-back home runs during a game in September of 1990, when they were 40 and 20, respectively.
The pair had such fond memories of their time together, that they decided to attend Tuesday’s game at Crypto.com Arena.
Ken Griffey Jr. (left) playing alongside his son and namesake during the 1990 season
A little fatherly advice as hockey great Gordie Howe accepts a gold puck from his sons and teammates Mark and Marty Howe (c) in recognition of his 1,000th goal
The fact the James family will join that list is somewhat remarkable given Bronny’s health scare last summer. LeBron’s eldest went into cardiac arrest during a workout at the University of Southern California before undergoing emergency surgery to fix what was diagnosed as a congenital heart defect. As a result, Bronny missed the USC’s preseason training camp and the first month of the season.
Ultimately Bronny struggled to find his rhythm and averaged just 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in his one college season before opting to declare for the NBA Draft.
Bronny played in all six of the Lakers’ preseason games, but his 4.2 points per game average was boosted greatly by his 17-point performance in last week’s preseason finale in which the Lakers and Warriors both rested most of their key players.
Bronny hit 29.7 percent of his shots in the preseason while averaging 1.7 rebounds and 0.3 assists, playing 16.2 minutes per game. His defensive work was praised by Redick, who sees the 6-foot-2 guard becoming a solid perimeter player in the future.
‘Had some bad games, some rough starts, so (I’ve been) just continuing to play my game and play hard,’ Bronny said prior to Tuesday’s opener.
Bronny isn’t expected to be an immediate rotation player for the Lakers, who already have D’Angelo Russell, Gabe Vincent and 2023 first-round pick Jalen Hood-Schifino ahead of him at point guard.
There’s a good chance Bronny will begin the season with the Lakers before heading to the G League to get the consistent playing time he probably needs to improve.
But he’s still thrilled to reach this milestone moment – and he’s even pretty sure what he’ll call his father on the court after LeBron prohibited him from using ‘Dad.’
‘Probably Bron,’ Bronny said with a smile. ‘That will probably be the easiest one.’