LOS ANGELES — When LeBron James made history two seasons ago, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, his oldest son, Brony James, was sitting courtside on the baseline.
On Tuesday night, during the Los Angeles Lakers’ season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves, LeBron and Brony made history by being on the court together.
When they checked in together with 4:00 on the clock in the second quarter, they became the first father-son duo in NBA history to play together. LeBron started and played 13 minutes before re-entering with Brony for the historic moment.
As the pair rose from the end of the bench and walked toward the scorer’s table, the crowd at Crypto.com Arena erupted in cheers as LeBron and Brony tore off their warmups to officially enter the court.
LeBron James.
Brony James.The first father-son duo to play together in the NBA! pic.twitter.com/naadFLoPmh
— NBA (@NBA) October 23, 2024
The Lakers were outshot 7-2 in the first shift when Broney missed an open 3 on the wing and was blocked by Rudy Gobert on a tip-in attempt after an offensive rebound.
Broney, taken 55th overall in the second round of the NBA draft in June, struggled last season while shooting 29.7% from the field and averaging 4.2 points. But he finished on a high note, scoring 17 points on 7-for-17 shooting with 4 rebounds and 3 steals.
First-year Lakers coach J.J. Redick, who played him in all six of L.A.’s exhibition games, briefly tried a lineup with Brony and LeBron in the second quarter against the Phoenix Suns on Oct. 6.
Before the Wolves game, Redick said he was “excited to be a part of” the “historic” occasion of LeBron and Brony entering the season on the same team.
Redick said he consulted with father and son to get their input on how they wanted to play their first game together.
“We’ve had a couple of conversations around that,” Redick said. “I think everybody’s on the same page. We want it to make sense and happen naturally and in the flow of the game.”
Another father-son pair made history by sitting on the same baseline that saw Brony break his father Abdul-Jabbar’s record.
Ken Griffey Jr. and Ken Griffey Sr., the first father-son duo to play together in the MLB, made an occasion out of it.
“It’s a beautiful moment in sports history to know that those guys are going to be here tonight when me and Brony are on the same team,” LeBron said after LA’s morning shootaround.
LeBron and Brony took a quick break from their pregame warmups to greet Griffiths and take photos on the court.
Tuesday will be the fourth time in professional sports that the father-son phenomenon has occurred.
In addition to Griffiths, the Jameses are joined by hockey great Gordy Howe, who played with his two sons, Mark and Marty, for the Hartford Whalers in 1980, the first time the family record happened in the NHL. Tim Raines and Tim Raines Jr. pitched together for the Baltimore Orioles on October 4, 2001.
Griffis played two seasons together for the Seattle Mariners in 1990 and 1991, hitting back-to-back home runs on September 14, 1990.
