LeBron James and Bronny James have made NBA history after both playing for the Los Angeles Lakers against the Phoenix Suns.
The pair became the first father-son duo ever to feature together in a game for the same NBA team during Sunday night’s pre-season contest at Acrisure Arena in California.
LeBron, who turns 40 in December, started for the Lakers in their second pre-season game after sitting out Saturday’s 124-107 defeat by the Minnesota Timberwolves, while Bronny – a rookie drafted by the Lakers in June with the 55th pick out of USC – came in off the bench early in the second quarter to share the historic moment with his dad on the occasion of his 20th birthday.
James Sr ended up with 19 points, five rebounds and four assists as he played 16 minutes of a 118-114 loss to the Suns, while Bronny was held scoreless as he claimed two rebounds in 13 minutes on the court.
After the game, LeBron, an NBA icon, the league’s all-time leading scorer and record 20-time All-Star set to enter his 22nd season, took to X and said: “Wow that was surreal.”
“For a father, it means everything. For someone who didn’t have that growing up, to be able to have that influence on your kids and have that influence on your son, be able to have moments with your son — and the ultimate, to be able to work with your son — that’s one of the greatest things that a father could ever hope for or wish for.”
Bronny said: “I was pretty psyched for that. I’m always thinking about, ‘That’s my dad!’, because that’s literally my dad. But when I’m playing, he’s just my teammate. That’s all.”
The duo will hope to share the court again when JJ Redick’s Lakers continue their pre-season preparations against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday, with two games against the Golden State Warriors sandwiched between another meeting with the Suns next week
