LOS ANGELES – When LeBron James made history two seasons ago, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, his eldest son, Bronny James, sat in a chair along the baseline.

On Tuesday night, during the Los Angeles Lakers’ season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves, LeBron and Bronny made history by being on the court together.

They became the first father-son duo in NBA history to appear in a game together when they checked into the game at the same time with 4:00 left in the second quarter. LeBron started and had already played 13 minutes before he came back in with Bronny for the historic moment.

As the pair stood up from the end of the bench and walked to the scorer’s table, the Crypto.com Arena crowd started buzzing, erupting into cheers as LeBron and Bronny ripped off their warmups to officially take the court.

Le Bron James.
Bronnie James.

The first father-son duo to play together in the NBA! pic.twitter.com/naadFLoPmh

— NBA (@NBA) October 23, 2024

The Lakers were outscored 7-2 in their first shift together, with Bronny missing an open 3 on the wing and also being blocked by Rudy Gobert on a tip attempt after an offensive rebound.

Bronny, selected by LA in the second round with the No. 55 pick in June, struggled in the preseason, averaging 4.2 points on 29.7% from the field. 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 JJ Redick, however, favored the rookie guard and played him in all six of LA’s exhibition games, including briefly trying out a lineup with Bronny and LeBron together in the second quarter against the Phoenix Suns on October 6.

Before the Wolves game, Redick said he was “excited to be a part” of the “historic” occasion that saw LeBron and Bronny enter the season on the same team.

Redick said he consulted with the father and son to get their input on how they would prefer to play their first game action together.

“We’ve had a few conversations about it,” Redick said. “I think everyone is on the same page. We want it to make some sense and we want it to happen naturally and in the flow of a game.”

On the same baseline where Bronny watched his father break Abdul-Jabbar’s record, sat another father-son duo who made history together.

Ken Griffey Jr. and Ken Griffey Sr., the first father-son duo to play together in the MLB, turned it into an occasion.

“To know that those guys are going to be there tonight with Bronny and I being on the same team is a pretty cool moment in sports history,” LeBron said after the morning shoot in LA.

LeBron and Bronny took a quick break from their pre-game warmups to greet the Griffeys and pose for a photo on the court.

Tuesday was the fourth time in top sport that there was a father-son match.

In addition to the Griffeys, the Jameses are joined by hockey great Gordie Howe, who played with two of his sons, Mark and Marty, for the Hartford Whalers in 1980, the first time this family feat happened in the NHL. Tim Raines and Tim Raines Jr. also took the field together for the Baltimore Orioles on October 4, 2001.

The Griffeys played together for the Seattle Mariners for two seasons in 1990 and 1991, memorably hitting back-to-back home runs on September 14, 1990.