LeBron James was playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers 20 years ago when his son, Bronny James, was born. Now in his 22nd season, LeBron has the chance at history. He is still in the league, and so is his son. Tuesday night, the James family made history when they took the floor together as Los Angeles teammates in their season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
LeBron: “You ready?”
Bronny: “Yup.”
This LeBron and Bronny moment mic’d up ❤️🎙️ pic.twitter.com/ffzTOoIdCx
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 23, 2024
LeBron and Bronny Share a Historic Moment in Season Opener
When James Sr. and James Jr. took the floor together, they drew a standing ovation from the crowd. The duo checked in during the second quarter, with the Lakers leading the way 51-35. As the pair got up from the end of the bench and walked toward the scorer’s table, everyone knew it was coming. In the days leading up to the season opener, many people speculated when this moment would happen. Some, like Bobby Marks, said it would be best to do it as soon as possible and continue the season without the pressure of having to wait until they play together. Turns out, he was right.
LeBron and Bronny become the first father-son duo to play on an NBA court together 👏 pic.twitter.com/p7QrvHKPBU
— NBA TV (@NBATV) October 23, 2024
Considering everything, Bronny’s debut went reasonably well. The Lakers were outscored 7-2 during the time Bronny and Lebron shared the court together. Bronny missed an open three on the wing, got blocked by Rudy Gobert, and had his welcome to the NBA moment. At one point, Bronny got switched into Julius Randle, the power forward backed him down and shot over him.
To be fair, he was not humiliated. Bronny was active and didn’t get punished. You think Anthony Edwards would try and go at him, but that didn’t happen. His final stat line is 0-2 from the floor, with three minutes of action, one offensive rebound, and plenty of Twitter mentions. Of course, we will not do a play-by-play breakdown for every game LeBron and Bronny play together. But for now, they got their flowers.
Historical Moment for Sports in General
A few days before the game, the buzz was that we would witness history. It was a perfectly scripted moment, a pure Hollywood moment. Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. watched from the sidelines. They made history as a father-son duo to play in professional sports, playing for the Seattle Mariners during the 1990-91 season.
Following the game, Griffey Jr. said,
“We made history, now we get to watch history”.
Shortly before tip-off, the Griffeys posed for photos with the James family.
LeBron and LeBron James Jr. with Ken Griffey Jr. and Ken Griffey Sr. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/MzYP9Ytj5V
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 23, 2024
What is Next for Bronny?
Following the iconic moment, Twitter went crazy, mostly people appreciating what we just witnessed. Of course, there were jokes like, LeBron should tie Bronny’s allowance to his +/-. But now that the father and son played together, the Lakers can continue with their season. And Bronny can continue with his development. Selected in the second round with the 55th pick, the young James struggled during the preseason. He averaged only 4.2 points on 29.7% shooting from the field. Yet, he finished on a high note, scoring 17 points along with four rebounds and three steals in the preseason finale.
First-year Lakers coach, JJ Redick has praised the young rookie and his willingness to learn and improve. Redick played Bronny in all six exhibition games, including trying a lineup with LeBron during the second quarter against the Phoenix Suns. With the Lakers’ logjam at guard, Bronny might spend more time in their G-League affiliate. Redick went 10 deep in the first game, and Dalton Knecht got 16 minutes of action. Quincy Olivari, their third rookie who got a two-way contract, did not play.
