LeBron and Bronny James produced an unforgettable moment on Tuesday.
The Los Angeles Lakers opened their 2024-25 regular season with a 110-103 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. With four minutes left in the second quarter, new head coach JJ Redick brought Bronny off the bench to make his NBA debut. The second-round pick entered the game alongside his father to a rousing ovation.
Bronny and LeBron officially became the first father and son to ever team together in an NBA game. The NBA shared the special scene on social media:
LeBron James.
Bronny James.The first father-son duo to play together in the NBA! pic.twitter.com/naadFLoPmh
— NBA (@NBA) October 23, 2024
The TNT broadcast captured a mic’d-up LeBron giving Bronny some fatherly/veteran advice before taking the court. He encouraged his son to play “carefree” with “intensity.”
“Don’t worry about mistakes,” LeBron told Bronny, via Bleacher Report. “Just go out and play hard.”
LeBron, who often mentioned his goal of playing alongside Bronny before retiring, discussed how much it meant to make history together.
“That moment, us being at the scorer’s table together and checking in together, something I will never forget,” LeBron told reporters after the game, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “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.”
Meanwhile, Bronny had to balance the magnitude of the moment with the nerves of playing his first NBA game.
“I tried not to focus on everything that was going on around me and tried to focus on going in as a rookie and not trying to mess up,” Bronny said. “But yeah, I totally did feel the energy, and I appreciate the Laker Nation for showing the support for me and my dad.”
Bronny played just three minutes without tallying his first NBA points. The 20-year-old missed two shots, including a three-point attempt set up by a pass from LeBron.
“We wanted that 3 to go in,” Anthony Davis said. “Bron threw it to him, and we wanted, obviously, for that to go in. But just looking at them checking in at the same time at the scorer’s table, it gave me like a little chills.”
The James duo could get another chance to play together when the Lakers host the Phoenix Suns this Friday night.
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