LeBron and Bronny James made NBA history on Tuesday, becoming the first father and son to play alongside each other in a regular season fixture as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 110-103.
The duo, who played together briefly in a pre-season game earlier this month, took to the court late in the second quarter at the Crypto.com Arena with the Lakers leading 51-35.
An enormous roar went up from the home crowd as the James duo approached the scorers table to check into the game after the Lakers had surged into a double-digit lead.
As James and his son prepared to enter the court, James Sr. could be heard telling Bronny: “You ready? You see the intensity, right? Just play carefree though.”
In a perfectly scripted moment that was pure Hollywood, the James’ double-act was watched at courtside by Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr, who made baseball history playing for the Seattle Mariners as father and son in 1990-1991.
“That moment — us checking in together — is something I’ll never forget, no matter how old I get, how my memory may fade as I get older or whatever. I will never forget that moment,” said LeBron, who had started Tuesday by celebrating the 10th birthday of his daughter Zhuri Nova.
“Everything was just great today, everything — from the moment I woke up,” he added.
“Obviously this is the first time in this beautiful history of the NBA that a father and son have been on the same floor, let alone on the same team. It was pretty cool.”
Bronny’s debut for the Lakers was subdued. The 20-year-old spent 2min 41sec on court, taking two unsuccessful shots from the field before being replaced.
He expressed gratitude for the supportive “energy” shown by Lakers fans.
“I try not to focus on everything that’s going on around me. I was trying to focus on trying not to mess up. But I totally did feel the energy,” Bronny said.
Lakers officials had been coy before Tuesday’s season-opener about where and when LeBron and Bronny would play their first regular season fixture together.
However NBA superstar LeBron, who turns 40 in December, admitted in pre-game remarks that he could scarcely contain his excitement at the prospect of realising his long-cherished dream of sharing a court with his son.
“Just to run out the tunnel knowing that he’ll be in uniform, run out the tunnel with him, see him warm up, and be out there with the rest of my teammates,” he told reporters during a morning shoot-around on Tuesday.
Anticipation about the James double-act has dominated the Lakers’ preparations for the new season since Bronny was selected by the franchise with the 55th pick in the draft in June.
– ‘It’s been a treat’ –
Bronny is expected to spend most of his rookie season in the developmental G-League rather than the Lakers senior squad.
LeBron however said Tuesday that he had relished being able to accompany his son on his first steps into professional basketball.
“It’s been a treat and just in preseason, the practices, just every day,” the older James said. “The plane rides, the bus rides of being with him and showing him the ropes, along with his teammates and coaches. Just what this professional life is all about and how to prepare every day… super-duper cool.”
Bronny’s ascent to the ranks of the NBA has been made all the more remarkable given that just over a year ago he suffered a cardiac arrest during a workout with his University of Southern California college team-mates.
James Sr. said his son’s swift recovery from that life-threatening episode had convinced him that he would one day play in the NBA.
“To see him play in a college Division I game the same year he had heart surgery… I knew that at that moment that there really was going to be nothing to stop him from anything that he wants to do,” LeBron said.
