Historic in the NBA, father and son together on the pitch for the first time

LeBron e Bronny James they made the history of Nba: for the first time father and son played together in a regular season game. The two, who had played together briefly in a pre-season match earlier this month, took to the field in the match which saw the Los Angeles Lakers prevail over the Minnesota Timberwolves 110 to 103. A huge roar rose from the crowd when the two Jameses prepared to enter the field. “Are you ready? There’s intensity, right? But play carefree,” LeBron told his son as he prepared to take the court.

In a moment that seemed like a perfect Hollywood script, the James duo was watched from the sidelines by Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr, who made baseball history playing for the Seattle Mariners as father and son in the 1990-91 season . “It’s a moment I’ll never forget, no matter how old I get, or if my memory fades with age or anything,” LeBron said. “Everything was great today, everything.”

Bronny’s debut for the Lakers was understated. The twenty-year-old spent 2 minutes and 41 seconds on the pitch, taking two unsuccessful shots from the field before being replaced. He expressed gratitude for the supportive “energy” shown by Lakers fans. “I try not to focus on everything going on around me. I was trying to focus on trying not to screw up. But I felt all the energy around me,” he said. Lakers officials had been cagey before Tuesday’s season opener about where and when LeBron and Bronny would play their first regular season game together.

However, the NBA superstar LeBron, who turns 40 in Decemberadmitted in pre-game remarks that he could hardly contain his excitement at the prospect of realizing his long-cherished dream of sharing a field with his son. “Just to run out of the tunnel knowing he’s going to be wearing the same uniform as me, see him warm up and be out there with the rest of my teammates,” he told reporters the morning before the game.

The wait for the James couple has dominated the Lakers’ preparations for the new season since Bronny was selected in June’s draft. Bronny is expected to spend the majority of his rookie season in the G-League rather than on the Lakers’ senior team. Bronny’s rise through the NBA ranks was made even more remarkable by the fact that just over a year ago he suffered cardiac arrest during a workout with his college teammates at the University of Southern California.

James Sr. said his son’s quick recovery had convinced him he would one day play in the NBA. “Seeing him play in a Division I college game the same year he had heart surgery … I knew in that moment there really was nothing stopping him from doing what he wanted,” LeBron said.