It was a big night for the James family as LeBron James and Bronny James became the first father-son duo to share a court in the NBA. Making history, the duo contributed to the Los Angeles Lakers‘ 110-103 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves to open the season.
Before stepping out onto the court, LeBron gave his 20-year-old son and Lakers’ rookie a pep talk. Amidst cheers, LeBron can be heard saying in the mic, “Y’all ready? You see the intensity, right? Just play carefree, though.” Before checking in, he added, “Don’t worry about mistakes. Just go out and play hard.” While LeBron finished the night with 16 points, Bronny got a taste of the big leagues with an early offensive rebound. He missed a tip-in and his first NBA jumper came up just short and he was checked out with 1:19 left in the second quarter. Receiving another ovation as he stepped off the court, he did not play again in the match.
Post-game LeBron spoke about the moment sharing, “I talked about it years and years ago, and for this moment to come, it’s pretty cool. I don’t know if it’s going to actually hit the both of us for a little minute, but when we really get to sit back and take it in, it’s pretty crazy. But in the moment, we still had a job to do when we checked in. We wasn’t trying to make it a circus. We wasn’t trying to make it about us. We wanted to make it about the team.” As for Bronny, he said, “[I] tried not to focus on everything that’s going on around me, and tried to focus on going in as a rookie and not trying to mess up. But yeah, I totally did feel the energy, and I appreciate Laker Nation for showing the support for me and my dad.”
LeBron and Bronny join a small club of father-son professional athletes taht were able to play together. 34 years ago, the Griffeys homered in the same game on September 14, 1990. The two showed up to support the James duo and watch NBA history. Take a look at some of the highlights below and above if you missed it.
