LeBron James and his son Bronny made history as they took part as the first father and son pairing to play together in an NBA game. The Los Angeles Lakers ran out 110-103 winners over the Minnesota Timberwolves, with Anthony Davis top-scoring with 36 points, but the presence of LeBron and Bronny playing together grabbed all the headlines.
There was not a spare seat in the house at the Crypto.com Arena, and the moment many had been waiting for came with four minutes left of the first half when the two came onto the court to a rapturous welcome.
This is JJ Redick’s first season in charge of the Lakers, with Darvin Ham being fired in May following a comprehensive first-round playoff loss to the Denver Nuggets. Fans of the Los Angeles franchise who feel that he can lead the team back towards the deep end of the postseason might want to dabble in some NBA betting ahead of what is sure to be an eventful season.
There has been much discussion about Bronny James’s move to the Lakers, some of which has been fairly negative with accusations of nepotism as well as comments on his quality being commonplace, but now that the youngster has made his bow, perhaps he can be given a chance to prove his worth.
The two came onto the court with the Lakers 51-35 up, and Bronny played for just three minutes in total, failing with his two attempts from field-goal range. The 20-year-old’s father did better, scoring 16 points in his 35 minutes on court.
LeBron, who turns 40 in December, is, of course, in the latter stages of a glittering career that has seen him collect four NBA titles and secure selection of the NBA All-Stars on no less than twenty occasions.
The NBA’s leading point scorer of all time clearly has done it all, and as such, the motivation of playing with his son is something the Lakers will have counted on when they drafted Bronny, though he will have to prove himself on his own merits.
On the uniquely historic occasion, LeBron commented,
“It’s always been family over everything,” “I lost a lot of time because of this league, so to be able to have this moment where I am working still and I can work alongside my son, it’s one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever got from the man above, and I’m going to take full advantage of it.”
Bronny stated on the momentous debut,
“Going up to the scorers’ table and checking in for the first time was a crazy moment I will never forget,”
“I’m just extremely grateful for everything. I was given an amazing opportunity to come into this league and get better every day and learn every day.”
This is LeBron James’s 22nd season in the NBA, and there can not be too many left in the tank, though it should be noted that he is still among the top, most consistent performers in the league.
