LeBron and Bronny James make history in Lakers’ season-opening win

Part plan, part pipe dream, Lakers star LeBron James and his eldest son, Bronny, became the first father and son to share an NBA court together — a milestone that celebrates the elder James’ longevity and the younger James’ resilience.

The two players walked to the scorers’ table with four minutes remaining in the second quarter Tuesday night in the season opener against Minnesota at Crypto.com Arena, making history as a father and son entered the game. They played just under three minutes and Bronny James missed his only shot attempt. It doesn’t matter.

“Obviously, this is the first time in this beautiful history of the NBA that this has ever happened. “It was father and son on the same floor, let alone on the same team, to be able to grace the floor together,” LeBron James said. “I’ve talked about it for years and years, and for this moment to come, it’s amazing. I don’t know that it’s going to actually affect us for a little minute where we really sit down and say, ‘Oh, that was beautiful, that’s so crazy.’

The game was attended by Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr., the first father and son to play on the same team in Major League Baseball. Hockey legend Gordie Howe and MLB Hall of Famer Tim Raines also played with their children as teammates at the highest professional levels.

It was just a sliver of a night in which the Lakers opened their season and JJ Redick’s tenure as head coach with strong intentions, as Anthony Davis led them through a tough game. Opening night win 110-103.

It is the Lakers’ first win on opening night since 2016.

Davis scored 36 points, grabbed 16 rebounds, four assists and three steals, and attacked Minnesota midfielder Rudy Gobert with a combination of speed, skill and power.

Lakers forward LeBron James, 23, passes to his son, guard Bronny James, 9, before setting a screen on Minnesota’s Joe Ingles during the second quarter on Tuesday night.

(Gina Ferrazzi/Los Angeles Times)

The Lakers used a second-quarter run to build a 19-point lead before each of their starters had a hand in holding Minnesota back in the fourth.

Austin Reeves had nine rebounds, Rui Hachimura scored 18 points and D’Angelo Russell helped steady the Lakers during a stretch in the fourth quarter when he scored one and made a pair of high jump shots for three straight scores.

Fittingly, James’ first 3-pointer of the game sealed the win, capping a night when the team made just five of 30 shots from deep. He opened his 22nd season with 16 points.

LeBron James sparked the historic moment in 2018 when he set a goal to play with his eldest son as his finish line moment. Two years later, he said it would be a “dream” to play with Bruni in the same team.

This year in the NBA Draft, it became a reality.

The Lakers used the 55th pick to select Bronny James despite a disappointing first season at USC in which he averaged 4.8 points per game.

Anthony Davis drives to the basket against Minnesota center Naz Reid in the second half.

(Gina Ferrazzi/Los Angeles Times)

However, James did not make his debut for the Trojans until December 10 due to a near-death ordeal during summer practice on the USC campus. James went into cardiac arrest and lost consciousness on July 25, 2023. USC athletic trainers used life-saving procedures, including a defibrillator. He will later undergo surgery to correct a congenital heart defect.

“When he’s able to make an appearance in the NBA, if it’s tonight or whenever, it’ll be another one of those moments just knowing the ordeal he’s been through,” LeBron James said Tuesday morning. “I’ve had a couple of family members who’ve had heart surgeries. Some are older, some are younger. And knowing how long it takes to get back to yourself, and seeing him be able to play in a Division I college game the same year he had his surgery in Heart, it was such a wow moment.

“And I knew that at that moment there would be nothing stopping him from getting to this — to whatever he wanted to do. And he wanted to keep playing basketball.”

Before the game on Tuesday, Nike released a commercial in which James filled Bronny’s car with Fruity Pebbles cereal in a bit of rookie annoyance.

“Thank God that wasn’t my car,” Bronny James said.

“He has multiple cars now. He opened that up and then got another one in,” LeBron joked afterward.

The two played four minutes together during one of the Lakers’ six preseason games, a moment that left LeBron James stunned.

“We stood next to each other and I kind of looked at him, and it was like, ‘Is this The Matrix or something?’” he said. “It wasn’t real.”

After the game, Bronny James — who struggled for most of the preseason — downplayed the matter.

“I just came out and felt like it was a normal game with my teammate to be honest,” Bronny James said.

But as the moment approached, especially given the adversity he faced in 2023, Bronny James’ NBA debut was more than just another game.

“Yes, it would be crazy,” he said.

And to make it even better, the Lakers got the win.

“We still had work to do when we checked in. We weren’t trying to make it a circus. We weren’t trying to make it about us,” LeBron James said. “We wanted to make it about the team, to go out there and keep playing.” The game, the brand of basketball that the coaching staff and our teammates wanted us to play. We kept that. We kept the main thing while we were on the ground. “And that was good for all of us.”