Megastar LeBron James und Bronny
Father and son write the cheesiest of all NBA stories
By David Needy
October 23, 2024, 1:24 p.m
Entry into the NBA history books: With LeBron James and Bronny James Jr., father and son are on the floor together for the first time in the best basketball league in the world. Los Angeles celebrates the moment, but the youngster is not yet convincing.
In the end it’s only about three minutes. But in these few seconds history is written. For the first time in the history of the NBA, the largest basketball league in the world, a professional and his son are on the floor together. Of course, LeBron James takes this record, the best point collector ever, probably the best basketball player ever with Michael Jordan. Together with his firstborn, 20-year-old Bronny, whose real name is LeBron Raymone James Jr., the 39-year-old veteran is reaching what he says is the biggest milestone in his incredible career.
“Are you ready?” asks father James, who is wired up with a microphone, as is often the case in the league. “You can see the intensity, right? Just play without a care in the world. Don’t worry about making mistakes. Just go out there and play with full effort,” he advises his son. Then, with four minutes left on the clock in the second quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers‘ NBA opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves, things finally get as historic as they are cheesy.
James and James Jr., as it says on Bronny’s jersey, come on as a substitute together. Bombastic applause erupts in the Crypto Arena in the City of Angels. The rest of the James family sits on the edge of the court and cheers, thousands of fans rise from their seats with their cell phones out. The Lakers were already leading 51:35 at this point and ended up winning 110:103.
“I will never forget this moment”
A minute later, when James the elder plays a first pass to his son, things get loud again. A few seconds later, the four-time NBA champion smashed the opponent’s ring with a smashing dunking a few meters in front of Bronny. This is when the arena completely freaks out. That the James youngster only plays a few minutes in his first professional game, doesn’t hit any of his two shots and only gets one rebound? Gifted. The only thing that counts this evening is the history book.
“That moment when we sat together at the scorer’s table and checked into the game together is something I will never forget,” said LeBron James in a joint press conference with Bronny after the game. “No matter how old I get, no matter how my memory wanes as I get older or whatever, I will never forget this moment.” The rookie son added that he tried to “not mess up” and tune out everything surrounding the game: “But yeah, I totally felt the energy and I appreciate Laker Nation for supporting me and my dad has.” Superstar Anthony Davis, who contributed 36 points and 16 rebounds for the Lakers, even talks about “goosebumps” the moment he was substituted on.
Bronny, who was selected by the Lakers in the second round of the NBA draft at number 55 after just one season at the University of Southern California, averaged just 4.2 points in the preseason with a shooting rate of less than 30 percent not convinced. Nevertheless, the first appearance with father LeBron was eagerly awaited, for years. After all, the 20-time All-Star James had repeatedly stated that his final big goal in his career was to play with his son.
Bronny probably won’t become a superstar
The hype is real. Sporting goods manufacturer Nike even ran its own advertisement. All eyes will continue to be on Bronny; solely because he is the son of the basketball megastar who won the gold medal with Team USA at the Olympic Games in Paris this summer. It shouldn’t be an easy year for the 20-year-old rookie. What comes next is still uncertain. Because he doesn’t have his father’s huge body and doesn’t have a good shot, experts predict he’ll have a career as a role player rather than a superstar. At least he is credited with good defensive work.
When LeBron James made history two seasons ago by overtaking the legendary Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA points record holder, Bronny was sitting courtside. Now father and son are celebrating an unprecedented entry into the history books together on the dance floor.
