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Dave McMenamin, ESPN Scribbler Team
EL SEGUNDO, California – When Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick first puts LeBron and Bronny James on the court in a game at the same speed, whether it’s opening night against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday or next this season. — History could be made in the NBA.
For LeBron, who embarks on his 22nd season as his son begins his first, the pace and playing field of that first shift together are inconsequential.
“When it happens, it happens,” he said later at the Lakers’ shootaround Tuesday morning. “Whether it’s tonight or whether it’s later, when it happens, it happens. But it’s been a pleasure, and just in the preseason, practices, every day… just getting him up to speed on what this professional life is like. about and how to prepare every day as a professional.”
The story that LeBron, 39, spent hours reflecting on before the 2024-25 season began was everything Bronny, 20, went through to get to this point. A year earlier, the Lakers drafted Bronny with the Negative. 55 second-round pick, suffered cardiac arrest in July 2023 during a year of summer training preparing for his first season at USC.
“[It was] “The scare wasn’t long ago,” LeBron said. “And when he gets to step on an NBA court, whether that’s tonight or whenever that may be, it’ll be another one of those moments just to know the adversity he’s facing.” passed.
“I’ve had a few people in the group that have had intermediate surgeries. Some of them used it, some of them younger. And to know how long it takes approximately to get back to yourself, see it so you can do it. Play games in a school sport category I the same year he had surgery it was an incredible week and he knew that in that week there was really nothing stopping him from taking care of this to anything else he needed to do and he wanted to continue playing basketball. “.
Continuing in the sport was young James’ main priority.
“One of the first things he asked was he asked the doctors after his core surgery, like, ‘When can I play again?'” LeBron recalled. “It’s not like, ‘How long will it take for my heart to heal?’ Or not, ‘How long was I in surgery?’ “None of them asked, ‘When can I play again?'”
LeBron and Bronny played together once during the preseason, on October 6 at the start of the second quarter against the Phoenix Suns. Bronny struggled for most of the exhibition, but finished on a high note, scoring 17 points on 7-of-17 shooting with 4 rebounds and 3 steals against the Golden State Warriors.
Whether the father-son duo take the court together on Tuesday or not, there will be a distinguished father-son duo in the crowd to watch the game. Ken Griffey Jr. said on SiriusXM’s “The Street to Cooperstown” podcast that he will attend the Lakers’ season opener with his father, Ken Griffey Sr.
The Griffeys became the first father-son teammates in major league history with the Seattle Mariners in 1990.
“I’ve been a big fan of Ken Griffey Jr. and then I was friends with Ken Griffey Jr. throughout my career,” LeBron said. “Just looking at the history of sports to see what they were able to do… With the intention of being here today and understanding who is going to be there this one night of the year. Bronny and I are on the same team, it’s a cool, engaging week in the history of sports”.
The Griffeys hit back-to-back home runs for the Mariners on September 14, 1990. LeBron was asked what the basketball version of that moment that he and Bronny would achieve would be.
“Definitely two lobs,” LeBron said. “I catch a lob and then Bronny catches a lob, which is probably the same thing. Clearly, the long ball is something that has great velocity in baseball, so probably two lobs.”
