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Dave McMenamin, ESPN staff writer
LOS ANGELES – When LeBron James made history two seasons ago, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, his oldest son, Bronny James, was sitting in a courtside seat next to the line. background.
On Tuesday night, in the Los Angeles Lakers’ season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves, LeBron and Bronny made history by being on the court together.
They became the first father-son duo in NBA history to appear in a game together when they took a look at the game in the same life with 4:00 left in the second quarter. LeBron started and had already played 13 minutes before coming back in with Bronny for a historic time.
As the pair were released from the end of the bench and walked toward the scorer’s desk, the Crypto.com Space family began to buzz, erupting in cheers as LeBron and Bronny tore off their warmups to formally enter the court.
LeBron James.
Bronny James.The first father and son duo to play together in the NBA! pic.twitter.com/naadFLoPmh
—NBA (@NBA) October 23, 2024
The Lakers were outscored 7-2 in their first shift together, with Bronny lacking a discernible 3-pointer on the wing and also getting banned by Rudy Gobert on a point-blank effort that then corralled an offensive rebound.
Bronny, chosen via LA in the second round with the Disagree. 55 selected in June, struggled in the preseason, averaging 4.2 points on 29.7% from the outfield. But he finished on a high note, scoring 17 points on 7-of-17 shooting with four rebounds and three steals.
First-year Lakers coach JJ Redick championed the rookie reserve, then played him in all six of Los Angeles’ exhibition games, as well as seeing a lineup with Bronny and LeBron together shortly in the second quarter against Phoenix. Suns on October 6.
Before the Wolves game, Redick said he was “thrilled to be a part” of LeBron and Bronny’s “historic” pace of starting the season on the same team.
Redick said he consulted with the father and son to find out how they would prefer their first sporting action together to play.
“We had a couple of conversations about it,” Redick said. “I think everyone is on the same page. We want it to make sense and we want it to happen naturally and in the flow of a game.”
Sitting along the same baseline where Bronny watched his father tear up the Abdul-Jabbar file was another father-son duo who together made history.
Ken Griffey Jr. and Ken Griffey Sr., the first father-son duo to play together in the MLB, made a breakthrough.
“Knowing that those guys are going to be there tonight while Bronny and I are on the same team is a cool moment in sports history,” LeBron said later at Los Angeles’ morning shootaround.
LeBron and Bronny took advantage of their pregame warm-up to greet the Griffeys and pose for a photo on the court.
Tuesday was the fourth life in professional sports when the father-son example occurred.
But still, the Griffeys and the Jameses are joined by hockey great Gordie Howe, who played with two of his sons, Mark and Marty, for the Hartford Whalers in 1980, their first life in the NHL. Tim Raines and Tim Raines Jr. also manned the outfield together for the Baltimore Orioles on October 4, 2001.
The Griffeys played together for the Seattle Mariners for two seasons in 1990 and 1991, memorably hitting back-to-back home runs on September 14, 1990.
