OAN Staff Blake Wolf
3:12 PM – Wednesday, October 23, 2024
LeBron James, alongside his son, Bronny James, made history on Tuesday night as the first father-son duo to play together in an NBA game.
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The James duo checked into the game together for the first time towards the end of the second quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers season opener. During the historic moment, the pair received a standing ovation from Lakers fans rocking the Crypto.com Arena.
“That moment, us being at the scorer’s table together and checking in together, it’s a moment I’m never going to forget,” LeBron stated. “No matter how old I get, no matter how my memory may fade as I get older or whatever, I will never forget that moment.”
39-year-old LeBron has been playing in the NBA for 22 seasons. He previously stated that playing with his son was one of his longtime goals. His dream became a reality after Bronny left the University of Southern California after only one season to join the NBA draft. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 55th overall pick.
“I talked about it years and years ago, and for this moment to come, it’s pretty cool,” LeBron stated. “I don’t know if it’s going to actually hit the both of us for a little minute, but when we really get to sit back and take it in, it’s pretty crazy. … But in the moment, we still had a job to do when we checked in. We wasn’t trying to make it a circus. We wasn’t trying to make it about us. We wanted to make it about the team,” LeBron continued.
The James duo was able to play for a little over two minutes together as the Lakers held a sizable lead, before Bronny was subbed out.
“Bout’ ready? You see the intensity, right? Just play carefree, though,” LeBron told 20-year-old Bronny prior to the start of the game. “Don’t worry about mistakes. Just go out and play hard.”
Bronny did not re-enter the game following his first appearance which ended in the Lakers defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves 110-103.
“[I] tried to focus on everything that’s going on around me, and tried to focus on going in as a rookie and not trying to mess up,” Bronny stated. “But yeah, I totally did feel the energy, and I appreciate Laker Nation for showing the support for me and my dad.”
Bronny finished the night without a score on two shot attempts, and added one rebound. His father scored 16 points on the night, along with five rebounds and four assists.
“It’s always been family over everything. I’ve lost a lot of time because of this league and committing to this league, being on the road at times and missing a lot of [Bronny’s] things, Bryce’s things and Zhuri’s things,” LeBron stated during the post-game press conference. “To be able to have this moment where I’m working still and I can work alongside my son is one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever gotten from the man above, and I’m gonna take full advantage of it.”
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