Lebron James and Bronny James became the first father-son pair to play in the NBA game Tuesday night during the Los Angeles Lakers season opener.
The father-son duo took to the court together late in the second quarter with the Lakers leading 51-35. Lebron James is the 39-year-old top scorer in NBA history, while his 20-year-old son was a second-round pick by the Lakers last summer.
Lebron James and Bronny James became the first father-son duo to play in the world’s top basketball league at the same time.
The 39-year-old Lebron James, playing in his record-tying 22nd NBA season, was predictably the Lakers’ starting lineup against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Bronny, making his NBA debut, joined the court with his father with four minutes remaining in the second quarter.
The dup substituted into the game together and went straight to business as fans applauded.
Before stepping into the spotlight, Lebron offered some last-minute advice to Bronny, as captured on a TNT sports microphone.
Lebron asked his son, “You see the intensity right?” He advised Bronny to play carefree and added that Bronny shouldn’t worry about mistakes. Lebron also advised him to just go out and play hard.
The son James played for about two and a half minutes in the first shift on the court in an NBA regular season game. Bronny James went 0-2 shooting and had a rebound at that time.
Earlier in October, Lebron and Bronny also played together on the court at the same time. However, that was in the preseason. Tuesday’s appearance of the duo made the moment official in the NBA record books.
Hall of Fame baseball player Ken Griffey Jr. and his father Ken Griffey Sr. were the father and son duo to play in the same MLB game when they appeared together as the members of Seattle Mariners in 1990.
Griffey Jr. said ahead of Tuesday’s game that they made history and they get to watch history. Before the game fell over, the Griffeys and the Jameses shared some laughs while standing together on the court for a time capsule photo.
The father-son Jameses enjoyed themselves as they hung together during the pre-game shoot. They both were seen smiling and chatting while putting up shots.
Lebron received the home crowd hyped when the appearing 40-year-old recorded a huge block and later threw down a monster one-handed jam to give the Lakers an early 9-5 lead.