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LeBron and Bronny James play together in Lakers season opener; first father-son duo in NBA history to share the court

LeBron and Bronny James play together in Lakers season opener; first father-son duo in NBA history to share the court

Lakers defeat Timberwolves in season opener as Bronny James makes history: Live reaction and updates

LOS ANGELES – The James family made history Tuesday night when patriarch LeBron James and his eldest son Bronny appeared in the same regular-season game. This marked the first time a father-son duo shared the court in the NBA’s 79th season. Annual anniversary.

In the 2024-25 season opener, where the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 110-103, the big moment came with 4:00 left in the second quarter when both LeBron and Bronny emerged from the bench together to enter the game to come.

At this point the Lakers were leading 51:35 and LeBron had already scored six points with three rebounds. The father and son took off their warmup jerseys after approaching the scorer’s table for a stint that lasted 2:31.

“During the dead ball, I wondered why everyone was cheering so loudly, and then I realized what was going on,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “We played through the game and it was supposed to be towards the end of the first half and the game gave (Bronny) an opportunity to get a few minutes.”

Bronny gave up a quick basket to Julius Randle, had his first shot blocked by reigning Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert and then attempted a shot on a pass from LeBron about 1:40 before halftime, but missed whoever else was there. Bronny guarded All-Star Anthony Edwards and forced a miss on the Lakers’ next defensive possession.

During their brief time together, LeBron, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, managed a baseline dunk ahead of Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr., who are no strangers to famous father-son duos.

When Bronny was substituted with 1:29 left before halftime, Los Angeles public address announcer Lawrence Tanter called attention to what had happened, telling the sellout crowd that he had “just witnessed history.”

“I’ll never forget that moment when we sat together at the scorer’s table and checked in together,” said LeBron. “No matter how old I get, no matter how much my memory fades as I get older or whatever, I will never forget this moment.”

The rest of the James family — wife and mother Savannah, son and brother Bryce, daughter and sister Zhuri, who turned 10 on Tuesday — sat on the baseline near the Laker bench. LeBron became emotional while talking about her as part of the milestone he and Bronny reached.

“Everything was great today,” said LeBron. “Everything, from the moment I woke up. I saw my daughter before she went to school. I went to work and saw my son at work. Come to the game, everything, man.”

Bronny, who went scoreless in those three minutes and did not return, said he tried “not to focus on everything that was going on around me; I’m focused on coming in as a newbie and trying not to make a mistake.

“I was a little worried at first,” said Bronny, whom the Lakers drafted at No. 55 in June. “The first game on the pitch is a little nerve-wracking. But once we got on the court, we walked up and down a few times, then it was all over and I felt pretty good.”

The game itself belonged to Anthony Davis, who opened with a massive 36 points and 16 rebounds in 37 minutes. Edwards led the Timberwolves with 27 points and five three-pointers. Davis now has 100 games with at least 25 points and 15 rebounds.

LeBron finished the game with 16 points, five rebounds and four assists. Rui Hachimura added 18 points for the Lakers. The game and the win were the first thing that mattered to Redick on the Lakers’ bench, and when he won his first game he was greeted with the customary water bottle shower by his players. The team hired him in the summer after a season as an NBA broadcaster for ESPN and a 15-year playing career before that.

Edwards led the Timberwolves with 27 points and five three-pointers. Randle, the former Laker who was traded to Minnesota from the New York Knicks in September as part of the blockbuster deal for Karl-Anthony Towns, finished with 16 points and nine rebounds in his Wolves debut.

“This is the first time we had a very special LeBron moment and we won,” said Davis, referring, among other things, to the Lakers’ loss on the night that LeBron Kareem Abdul-Jabbar became the league’s leading scorer League overtook.

The simultaneous check-in between LeBron and Bronny marked the first time in NBA history that a father and son appeared together in a real game, and it was only the fourth time in modern major American professional sports. LeBron and Bronny, who briefly appeared together in a preseason game on October 6, joined NHL players Howes, father Gordie and sons Mark and Marty with the 1979-80 Hartford Whalers, Tim Raines Sr. and Tim Raines Jr. ( Baltimore Orioles, 2001) and the Griffeys (Seattle Mariners, 1990).

The Griffeys, who enjoyed a pregame meal with Nike executives at Smashburger at LA Live, sat under the basket at the other end of the court from the Lakers’ bench. Ken Sr. and Ken Jr. hugged LeBron and Bronny (remember, Bronny’s birth name is LeBron) and posed for photos before the game.

“Right now we had a job to do,” LeBron said. “We didn’t try to make it a circus, we didn’t try to make it about ourselves. We wanted it to be about the team.”

This is LeBron’s 22nd season, tying him with Vince Carter for the most seasons in NBA history. At age 39, LeBron has won four NBA championships, won four league MVPs, started a record 20 All-Star Games and won his third Olympic gold medal with Team USA in Paris, among other achievements.

Bronny, 20, was in eighth grade when his father joined the Lakers and the family moved from Cleveland to Los Angeles full-time. He mentioned that LeBron leading the Cavaliers to the NBA title in 2016 and helping lead Team USA’s comeback against Serbia in the Olympic semifinals last summer were the two most inspiring things he saw his father do on the court.

“Both of them made me think, ‘This is a crazy sport, I really want to be a part of it,'” Bronny said.

Bronny survived heart surgery in the summer of 2023 and played for the USC Trojans last season. Although he mostly struggled as a role player, the Lakers not only drafted Bronny, but also gave him a four-year, $7.9 million contract – a rarity for someone selected so low in the draft.

“We had a moment when he got drafted, we all had the opportunity to be together as a family in New York,” LeBron said. “We had a moment there because we were just thinking about the fact that the horror happened not too long ago. … And when he’s able to walk into an NBA stadium, whether it’s tonight or whenever, it’ll be another one of those moments just to learn the adversity he’s been through.

“Some of my family members have had heart surgeries. Some of them older, some younger. And knowing how long it takes to get back to yourself and seeing him be able to play in a Division I college game the same year he had heart surgery was a ” “Wow” moment. And I knew in that moment that there really was nothing that would stop him from achieving that – anything he wanted to do. And he wanted to keep playing basketball.”

LeBron illustrated his son’s desire to stay on the court by recalling Bronny’s first words after heart surgery, which followed a cardiac arrest he suffered while training with the Trojans two summers ago.

“One of the first things he asked the doctors after his heart surgery was, ‘When can I play again?'” LeBron said. “Not like, ‘How long will it take for my heart to heal?’ Or not: “How long was I in surgery?” None of that. He asked, ‘When can I play again?'”

Bronny’s debut wasn’t quite as explosive as his father’s first game as a pro. On October 29, 2003, LeBron scored 25 points with six boards and nine assists for the Cleveland Cavaliers in Sacramento, months after they made him the No. 1 pick of the draft.

When the G League season begins next month, the Lakers are expected to shuttle Bronny back and forth between the NBA and their South Bay affiliate. If Bronny doesn’t play in the G League, he probably won’t play a big role with the Lakers, at least initially.

“I talked about this many years ago. And for that moment, that’s pretty cool,” LeBron said. “I don’t know if it will affect either of us for even a minute.”

At halftime, the Lakers honored the late Jerry West with a tribute video. West, who died June 12 at age 86, is one of the Lakers’ all-time greatest players and led the franchise to six championships as general manager.

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(Photo: Frederic J. Brown / AFP via Getty Images)