Basketball superstar LeBron James and his son Bronny have made NBA history: At the Los Angeles Lakers‘ season opener on Tuesday evening (local time), the two were the first father-son duo to play in a regular season game in the best league in the world stood together on the field. The Lakers celebrated a 110:103 home win against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
LeBron, 39, and 20-year-old Bronny James walked onto the floor together late in the second quarter, when the Lakers led 51-35. The moment was perfectly staged: Sitting on the sidelines were Ken Griffey senior and Ken Griffey junior, who made a historic appearance together as father and son for the Seattle Mariners in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the 1990s. “We made history, now we can see history,” said Griffey Jr., who posed with his father for photos with LeBron and Bronny James shortly before the game began.
The Lakers selected Bronny James in the second round, 55th, in the summer draft. In the preseason, LeBron and his son were on the field together in the 114:118 win against the Phoenix Suns. In the end, LeBron James scored 16 points against the Timberwolves, and Bronny had one rebound in his short stint of just under three minutes. The best thrower for LA was Anthony Davis with 36 points.
James Sr. has long dreamed of playing with Bronny in the NBA. But it won’t be easy for his offspring. It wasn’t until the dress rehearsal shortly before the start of the season that Bronny James managed to break free with 17 points, four rebounds and three steals. In the five previous test games he averaged 1.6 points in 12.4 minutes and a field shooting rate of 20 percent.
The anticipation of the James double team had dominated the Lakers’ preparations for the new season. Bronny James is expected to spend most of his rookie season in the G-League rather than on the Lakers’ first team.
