When will Bronny James make his Lakers debut? What to know as LeBron James prepares to make history with his son

The Los Angeles Lakers set out to make NBA history in June. They selected Bronny James with the number 55 pick in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft. His father, LeBron James, was already on the roster, and while he was technically primed to become a free agent, the widespread expectation was that he would re-sign. He did, and that made the legendary elder James and his junior son the first father-son duo to play together in NBA history. All of this has been known for almost four months. The bigger question today, October 22nd, is when exactly the big moment will come.

The The Lakers are starting their season on Tuesday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and that means today could be the day James makes one of his long-held basketball dreams come true.

But will we see Bronny and LeBron on the court together in Los Angeles on Tuesday night? Here’s what we know as the Lakers prepare to start their season.

What did the Lakers say?

First-year Lakers head coach JJ Redick has refused to put a definitive timeline on the moment between LeBron and Bronny before opening night. On Monday, he said that “nothing has been finalized” for this moment. Then on Tuesday, hours before the tip-off, Redick said whenever Bronny took the floor with LeBron, he wanted it to “happen naturally.”

However, previous reports suggest it will happen early in the season.

“We’re going to see history very, very soon,” ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Get Up less than two weeks ago. “The Lakers expect their joint debut, the first father-son duo in NBA history to play in the same game simultaneously, to occur as early as opening night.”

Although Redick hasn’t publicly committed to a date, he has said that both members of the James family will have a say in how it turns out.

“Obviously we talked about it as a staff and went into some of the details about what that might look like.” Redick said in September. “But we haven’t committed to anything. And of course there is a discussion when we are all together, including with Bronny and LeBron. You should be part of this discussion too.”

It’s currently unclear how exactly the team plans to make this moment happen. Since the younger James’ status as a second-round rookie likely won’t be part of the rotation, using him late in a game that has already been decided would be optimal. However, no one within the organization has confirmed that the Lakers are pursuing this path.

What happened in the preseason?

Bronny and LeBron shared the court together during the preseason. The first such incident occurred on October 7, in the second quarter of a game against the Phoenix Suns.

From a functional basketball perspective, the preseason is meaningless for the elder James. LeBron is a 22-year veteran who is just trying to get into regular season shape. In three preseason games, he averaged 12 points in 18.5 minutes.

The younger James, however, had a more notable preseason, and not necessarily in a good way. In six games, Bronny averaged just 4.2 points on 29.7% shooting. Keep in mind that these numbers were worse before his preseason finale He scored 17 points on 7-of-17 shooting. The preseason is a testing ground for newbies, and Bronny largely failed his first public evaluation as a pro.

What can we expect as the season progresses?

Obviously, LeBron will play a lot for the Lakers. He is their best player and averaged over 35 minutes per game a season ago. If Bronny does indeed perform for the big club, there’s a good chance he’ll do so alongside his father.

The bigger question is how often Bronny will even be in the NBA. Although he has a standard NBA contract, reports suggest he will spend some time in the G-League and play for the South Bay Lakers. That would make sense given both his draft position and his poor preseason. He needs minutes and space to develop out of the spotlight. Sitting on the big club’s bench while his father continues to make history is probably of little use to him.

He’ll certainly have opportunities here and there for the NBA team, but the most likely form of his season will be a brief appearance alongside his father to ensure history is made before possible injuries delay it, followed by an extended stay in the G League. Maybe Bronny will eventually join his father as a starter on the Lakers. For now, however, he remains a long-term project for the team.