Two years ago, LeBron James revealed the hope of playing on the court with his eldest son. Dreams came true, Lebron and Bronny made history, becoming the first father-and-son duo to play in any NBA game at the same time, let alone on the same team. The James remarkable moment coincidentally happened on Bronny’s 20th birthday and the crowd at Acrisure Arena in the Coachella Valley cheered as soon as he entered the court.
First game together against the Phoenix
After getting his feet wet in Friday’s preseason opener, Bronny James joined LeBron in game action for the 1st time. LeBron and his son made NBA history Sunday night when they played together for the first time during the Los Angeles Lakers’ preseason game against the Phoenix. LeBron James, a seasoned NBA veteran in his 22nd season, and his son, Bronny, a recent Lakers draft pick, have been working towards this moment for years. Bronny, who had a cardiac arrest incident over a year ago, joined the Lakers after playing one season at Southern California.
Planning for future milestones of The Lakers
Head coach JJ Redick revealed that the Lakers have discussed the logistics of future historic moments, including the possibility of LeBron and Bronny playing together in the regular season. However, Redick refrained from making any predictions about when this might happen.
Bronny had two points on 1-for-6 shooting and three blocked shots while playing 16 minutes against the Timberwolves. The Lakers have four more preseason games – all outside Los Angeles while their home arena is being renovated – before they begin the regular season at home against Minnesota on Oct. 22.
LeBron was early in his second NBA season with the Cleveland Cavaliers when he and his high school sweetheart, Savannah Brinson, became parents for the first time in 2004. They had two more children – son Bryce and daughter Zhuri. The father-and-son duo have been preparing for this moment for a long time, training together and scrimmaging as teammates and opponents. Anthony Davis also made his preseason debut against the Suns after a similarly busy summer. The father and son have scrimmaged together repeatedly during workouts at the Lakers’ training complex, both as teammates and opponents. Redick said they’ve even run pick-and-rolls together in preparation.
In the regular season, they’ll join a short list of fathers and sons who have shared a playing field in North American professional sports. The father-son duo joins a select group of athletes who have played together in North American professional sports. Examples include the Griffey family in baseball and the Howe family in hockey.
