LeBron and Bronny James make history as the NBA's first father-son duo to play together

LeBron James and Bronny James officially became the first father and son to step onto the court together in the NBA on Tuesday night at the Los Angeles Lakers' season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena.

The duo entered the game four minutes before the end of the second quarter and drew a huge ovation from the home crowd, who were aware of the enormous significance of this milestone. LeBron had already started the game and played 13 minutes before teaming up with his 20-year-old son to make history.

LeBron James is the 39-year-old leading scorer in NBA history, while LeBron James Jr. was a second-round pick by the Lakers last summer. They are the first father and son to play in the world's top basketball league at the same time, let alone on the same team.

“Are you all ready? You see the intensity, right? But just play carefree,” father said to his son on the bench before they checked in, a conversation captured by the TNT cameras and microphones. “Don’t worry about mistakes. Just go out there and play hard.”

LeBron and Bronny played on the court together for 2 1/2 minutes, and LeBron missed two perimeter shots before making a dunk. Bronny had an early rebound and missed a tip-in.

Bronny's first NBA jump shot was a 3-pointer that narrowly missed. He checked out with 1:19 left in the second quarter and received another ovation.

Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. were courtside at the Lakers' downtown arena to witness the same history they made in Major League Baseball. The two sluggers became the first father-son duo in baseball to play 51 games together for the Seattle Mariners in 1990 and 1991.

The Jameses and the Griffeys met during pregame warmups for a few photos and a heartfelt conversation between two notable family lines.

LeBron, a four-time NBA champion and 20-time All-Star, first spoke about his dream of playing alongside Bronny several years ago when his eldest son was still in high school. The dream came true when Bronny was drafted after one college season as a teenager and the Lakers took him with the 55th overall pick.

“It was a pleasure,” LeBron said at Tuesday morning’s shootout. “In preseason, it’s the practices, just every day… that get him up to speed on what this professional life is about and how to prepare every day as a professional.”

LeBron and Bronny joined a small club of father-son professional athletes who played together. The Griffeys made history 34 years ago and even hit a home run in the same game on September 14, 1990.

Baseball Hall of Famer Tim Raines and his son of the same name also achieved this feat with the Baltimore Orioles in 2001.

In ice hockey, Gordie Howe played with his two sons, Mark and Marty, for the Houston Aeros and Team Canada of the WHA before completing one NHL season with the Hartford Whalers in 1979-80, when Gordie was 51 years old.

While the other family pairings on this list occurred late in the fathers' careers, LeBron shows no signs of slowing down or regressing as he begins his record 22nd NBA season.

LeBron averaged more than 25 points per game last year for his 20th straight season and remains, along with Anthony Davis, the most important player for the Lakers as they look to recapture the form that won them a championship in 2020 and took them to the Finals Western Conference brought in 2023.

Bronny survived cardiac arrest and open-heart surgery in the summer of 2023 and went on to play a shortened freshman season at the University of Southern California. He declared for the draft anyway and the Lakers eagerly used the fourth-to-last pick in the draft for the 1.90 meter tall guard.

LeBron spent the summer in Europe with the US team that won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics, while Bronny played for the Lakers in the summer league. They began training together with the Lakers before training camp.

The duo played together for the first time in preseason, spending four minutes in a game against Phoenix just outside Palm Springs earlier this month.

The Lakers were fully aware of the history they would make with this pairing, and coach JJ Redick recently spoke with the Jameses about a plan to make it happen early in the regular season.

The Griffeys' presence probably made it inevitable for opening night, although Redick said the Lakers still wanted it to “happen naturally in the flow of the game.”

The Lakers have declined to speculate on how long Bronny will remain on their NBA roster. Los Angeles also has point guards D'Angelo Russell, Gabe Vincent and Jalen Hood-Schifino, which likely makes minutes tight for Bronny, who will likely need regular playing time to bring his game up to a consistent NBA standard.

These factors suggest that Bronny will likely end up with the G League's South Bay Lakers soon. LeBron and Redick have both spoken positively about the South Bay team and stated that player development is an important part of the Lakers organization.

Miami forward Kevin Love, who knew all of the James children – Bronny, Bryce and Zhuri – from his time as teammates with LeBron James in Cleveland, said it was “an incredible moment” to see father and son play together.

“I grew up a Mariners fan, so I watched Griffey and then Griffey Sr. But that’s different because LeBron is still one of the top five players in the league,” Love said. “This game, man. That's why we have this ($76 billion) TV deal. The storylines and the things that happen, it's an incredible story. That’s really cool to see.”