LeBron, Bronny James play together in Lakers season opener; first father-son duo to share court in NBA history

Lakers defeat Timberwolves in season opener as Bronny James makes history: Live reaction and updates

LOS ANGELES — The James family made history Tuesday night with the patriarch, LeBron James, and his eldest son, Bronny, appearing in the same regular-season game, marking the first time a father-son duo shared the court in the NBA’s 79-year existence.

In the 2024-25 season opener, where the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 110-103, the big moment happened with 4:00 left in the second quarter when both LeBron and Bronny emerged from the bench together to check into the game.

The Lakers were ahead 51-35 at the time and LeBron already scored six points with three rebounds. The father and son peeled off their warmup jerseys after approaching the scorer’s table for a stint that lasted 2:31.

“I was wondering during the dead ball why everyone was cheering so loud, and then I realized what was happening,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “We were feeling out the game, and it was going to be towards the end of the first half, and the game presented an opportunity for (Bronny) to get some minutes.”

Bronny gave up a quick basket to Julius Randle, had his first shot blocked by reigning Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert and then attempted a shot on a pass from, who else, LeBron, with about 1:40 left before halftime but missed. Bronny guarded All-Star Anthony Edwards and forced a missed shot on the Lakers’ next defensive possession.

During their brief time together, LeBron, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, crushed a baseline dunk in front of Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr., who know a thing or two about famous father-son duos.

“You ready? Just play care free… go out and play hard.”

Year 22 with a bit of advice for Year 1. pic.twitter.com/g5Trgujjzt

— NBA (@NBA) October 23, 2024

When Bronny subbed out with 1:29 before halftime, Los Angeles public address announcer Lawrence Tanter called attention to what just happened, telling the sold-out crowd it had “just witnessed history.”

“That moment, us being at the scorer’s table together and checking in together is something I will never forget,” LeBron said. “No matter how old I get, no matter how my memory may fade as I get older or whatever, I will never forget that moment.”

The rest of the James family — wife and mother Savannah, son and brother Bryce, daughter and sister Zhuri, who turned 10 on Tuesday — were seated on the baseline near the Laker bench. LeBron became emotional talking about them as part of the milestone he and Bronny reached.

“Everything was just great today,” LeBron said. “Everything, from the moment I woke up. I saw my daughter before she went to school. I went to work, saw my son at work. Get to the game, just everything, man.”

As for Bronny, who went scoreless in those three minutes and did not return, said he tried “not to focus on everything that’s going on around me; I’m focused on going in as a rookie and trying not to mess up.

“I was a little anxious going into it,” said Bronny, who the Lakers drafted at No. 55 in June. “That first game stepping on the court, it’s a little nerve wracking. But once we got on the court, we got up and down a couple times, it all went away and I felt pretty good.”

“Family over everything” 🤞👑@KingJames and Bronny caught up with @TaylorRooks following their win against Minnesota! pic.twitter.com/8mnV7Y9kA9

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) October 23, 2024

The game itself belonged to Anthony Davis, who opened with a monstrous 36 points and 16 rebounds in 37 minutes. Edwards paced the Timberwolves with 27 points and five 3s. Davis now has 100 games with at least 25 points and 15 rebounds.

LeBron finished with 16 points, five rebounds and four assists. Rui Hachimura added 18 points for the Lakers. The game, and win, was the first that counted for Redick on the Lakers’ bench, and he was met with the customary water bottle shower by his players for winning his first game. The team hired him over the summer after one season as an NBA broadcaster for ESPN and a 15-year playing career before that.

Edwards paced the Timberwolves with 27 points and five 3s. Randle, the former Laker who was traded to Minnesota by the New York Knicks in the blockbuster deal for Karl-Anthony Towns in September, finished with 16 points and nine rebounds in his Wolves debut.

“This is the first time we had a LeBron moment that was something huge and we won,” cracked Davis, referring to, among other things, the Lakers losing on the night LeBron passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the league’s most prolific scorer.

The LeBron-Bronny simultaneous check-in marked the first time in NBA history that a father and son appeared in a real game together and just the fourth time in modern major American professional sports. LeBron and Bronny, who briefly appeared together in a preseason game on Oct. 6, joined the NHL’s Howes, father Gordie and sons Mark and Marty with the 1979-80 Hartford Whalers, Tim Raines Sr. and Tim Raines Jr. (Baltimore Orioles, 2001) and the Griffeys (Seattle Mariners, 1990).

The Griffeys, who took in a pregame meal with Nike executives at Smashburger at L.A. Live, were seated under the basket on the other end of the court from the Lakers’ bench. Ken Sr. and Ken Jr. embraced LeBron and Bronny (remember, Bronny’s birth name is LeBron) and posed for pictures before the game.

“In the moment, we still had a job to do,” LeBron said. “We weren’t trying to make it a circus, we weren’t trying to make it about us. We wanted to make it about the team.”

This is LeBron’s 22nd season, which ties him with Vince Carter for the most seasons in NBA history. At age 39, LeBron has won four NBA championships, four league MVPs, started a record 20 All-Star Games and is coming off his third Olympic gold medal with Team USA in Paris, among other career highlights.

Bronny, 20, was entering the eighth grade when his dad joined the Lakers and the family moved to Los Angeles full time from Cleveland. He mentioned LeBron’s leading the Cavaliers to the NBA title in 2016 and watching him co-lead Team USA’s comeback against Serbia in an Olympic semifinal last summer as the two most inspiring things he’d watched his father do on the court.

“With both of those I was like, ‘this is a crazy sport, like, I really want to be part of this,’” Bronny said.

Bronny overcame heart surgery in the summer of 2023 to play collegiately for the USC Trojans last season. Though he mostly struggled as a role player, the Lakers not only drafted Bronny but awarded him a four-year, $7.9 million contract — rare for someone selected as low in the draft.

“We had a moment when he was drafted, we all got an opportunity to be together as a family in New York,” LeBron said. “We had a moment there because we were just thinking about not too long ago that the scare happened. … And when he’s able to grace an NBA floor, if that’s tonight or whenever the case may be, it’ll be another one of those moments just to know the adversity that he went through.

“I’ve had a couple of family members that have had heart surgeries. Some of them older, some of them younger. And to know how long it kind of takes to get back to yourself, to see him be able to play in a college Division I game the same year that he had heart surgery was, like, a ‘wow’ moment. And I knew that at that moment that there really was going to be nothing to stop him from getting to this — to anything that he wants to do. And he wanted to continue to play basketball.”

LeBron illustrated his son’s desire to stay on the court by recalling Bronny’s first words after heart surgery, which followed an episode of cardiac arrest he suffered while working out with the Trojans two summers ago.

“One of the first things that he asked, he asked the doctors after his heart surgery, like, ‘When can I play again?’” LeBron said. “Not like, ‘How long is it going to take for my heart to heal?’ Or not, ‘How long was I in surgery?’ None of those. He asked, ‘When can I play again?’”

Bronny’s debut was not quite as explosive as his dad’s first game as a professional. On Oct. 29, 2003, LeBron scored 25 points with six boards and nine assists for the Cleveland Cavaliers in Sacramento, months after they made him the No. 1 pick of the draft.

When the G League season begins next month, the Lakers are expected to shuttle Bronny back and forth between the NBA and their affiliate at South Bay. When Bronny isn’t in the G League, he is not expected to hold a major role on the Lakers, at least initially.

“I talked about it years and years ago. And for this moment to come on, this is pretty cool,” LeBron said. “I don’t know that it’s actually going to hit the both of us for a minute.”

At halftime, the Lakers honored the late Jerry West with a tribute video. West, who died on June 12 at 86, is one of the greatest to ever play for the Lakers and guided the franchise to six championships as general manager.

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(Photo: Frederic J. Brown / AFP via Getty Images)