LeBron James, Bronny James become the first-ever father-son duo to play together in the NBA

Anthony Valmoria
Oct 7 2024

LeBron James and his son LeBron James Jr. made NBA history Sunday night when they shared the floor in the Lakers’ preseason game against the Phoenix Suns. 

The duo made their much-anticipated debut together at the start of the second quarter of the game in Palm Springs, California.

Although they did not have many basketball moments in their time on the court together, it was such a cool moment for the Los Angeles superstar as his longtime dream of playing together with his eldest son came to fruition.

‘Bronny’ James, as he’s fondly called, was picked by the Lakers at the 55th overall selection in this year’s NBA Draft. 

The elder James notably expressed his desire to play with his son a lot of times in the past. LeBron mentioned it again recently on their team’s media day citing it has given him joy and a new lease in his illustrious 22-year NBA career.

“It's a lot of excitement, a pure joy, to be able to come to work every day, put in hard work with your son every day, and be able to see him continue to grow," James said. "We push each other. He pushes me. I push him. We push our teammates, and vice versa. So it's just a very joyous moment not only for myself but for our family. So it's pretty awesome. Gives you a lot of life.”

LeBron was his usual dominant self despite being the oldest player in the NBA with 19 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks at the half for the Lakers while Bronny logged in 1 rebound and 3 turnovers, going 0/1 on his shot attempts.

The Suns eventually won the game in a tight affair, 118-114, as LeBron only played the first half with Anthony Davis who also had a good game with 17 points and 8 rebounds. Phoenix was led by their bench unit with 4 players scoring in double digits – rookie Oso Ighodaro, Damion Lee, Collin Gillespie, and Josh Okogie. 

The Lakers had one last shot to win the game with new head coach JJ Redick drawing up a play for Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht. However, he missed on the potential game-winning three with fellow rookie Ryan Dunn of the Suns all over him, and Dunn leaked out for a transition dunk in the ending moments for the final score.

The younger James is expected to take his time in developing at the Lakers’ G League team South Bay as he continues to build his NBA career after suffering a career-altering condition last year. Bronny suffered a cardiac arrest while playing college ball for the USC Trojans and has been trying to get back on track since.

LeBron and the Lakers open the season against the Minnesota Timberwolves on opening night with championship aspirations still on the horizon for the 2nd winningest franchise in NBA history.