LeBron James and Bronny James Everyone was smiling as they warmed up, just moments before becoming the first father-son duo to play together in an NBA preseason game.

THE LINEUP 🏀

What’s in today’s edition?

Historical moment: LeBron and Bronny James became the first father-son duo to share the court in a preseason game

Abu Dhabi sweep: Defending champion Celtics leave the UAE 2-0 in the preseason

Round up: The new-look Knicks, Raptors and Pistons open the preseason with wins

WNBA semifinals: Liberty reaches the final for the second year in a row; Sun Force decisive game 5

Further debuts in the program: 16 teams (and many new faces) open the preseason this week

BUT FIRST… ⏰

Start your week with more preseason hoops…

A pair of former No. 1 picks from Duke — New Orleans’ Zion Williamson (2019) and Orlando’s Paolo Banchero (2022) — will face off in a Monday matinee (1:30 ET, NBA League Pass) to kick off their preseason and open a five-game slate.

1. LEBRON & BRONNY JAMES PROVIDE A PREVIEW OF NBA HISTORY

At the start of his 22nd NBA season There aren’t many NBA firsts for LeBron James.

But on Sunday evening in Palm Desert When the Lakers took the court to open the 2nd quarter against the Suns, LeBron and his eldest son Bronny stood side by side – the first time in NBA history that a father and son played together in an NBA -Played preseason game.

It served as a preview of the official moment that could come during the regular season. That could happen as early as Oct. 22 when the Lakers host the Wolves in the nightcap of the opening night of the 2024-25 season.

The LeBron and Bronny moment came in the first half in which the Lakers built a 69-57 lead behind a combined 36 points from LeBron (19 points) and Anthony Davis (17 points) before the All-Stars were eliminated in the second half.

The Lakers led by as many as 16 points in the 3rd quarter before the Suns rallied and went back and forth in the 4th quarter before Phoenix prevailed 118-114. | statistics

Josh Okogie (15 points, 5 rebs, 2 threes) led Phoenix off the bench, while starters Kevin Durant (6 points, 3-10 FG), Devin Booker (12 points, 4-12 FG) and Bradley Beal (11 points, 2-7 FG) combined for 29 points on 31% shooting . The Suns’ bench outscored the Lakers’ bench 76-42.

2. CELTICS COMPLETE ABU DHABI SWEEP

Boston’s victory over Denver At the start of the 2024 preseason on Friday, it was the first in 693 days – since November 2022.

On Sunday, Jaylen Brown (21 points, 3 ast) and Jayson Tatum (17 points, 4 ast) combined for 38 points to lead the Celtics to their second win over the Nuggets in just three days. | statistics

• A sweep in Abu Dhabi: In the meeting of the last two NBA title holders, the 2024 champions won both games in Abu Dhabi, after a 107-103 victory on Friday and a 130-104 victory on Sunday
• Decisive 3rd quarter: Boston led by seven points at halftime and outscored the Nuggets 42-16 in the third behind a familiar spark off the bench – Payton Pritchard
• Encore: After leading all scorers on Friday (21 points, 6 3-pointers), Pritchard scored all 14 of his points (5-7 FG, 2-3 3P) in the third quarter on Sunday as the Celtics pulled away
• Poetry in motion: Check this out Handles and sturdy bucket by Brown through the slow motion lens

Nikola Jokic was up and down for the Nuggets with 20 points, seven boards and three assists in 18 minutes. Both Jokic and Jamal Murray did not play in the second half as Denver gave its young players an extended run.

• Young Nuggs: Second-year guard Julian Strawther scored 17 points, undrafted rookie Trey Alexander added 12 points and five dimes, and 2023 second-round pick Hunter Tyson (8 pts, 10 reb) nearly had a double- Double laid down
• Undermanned squad: Veterans Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, Russell Westbrook, DeAndre Jordan and 2024 first-round pick DaRon Holmes II were inactive for Denver

On the way home: After a successful trip, Tatum and the Celtics boarded a 14-hour flight back to Boston to visit their families and continue camp… but not before throwing a few souvenirs to fans as they walked off the field

• Tatum: “Basketball has allowed us to go places and travel the world… having the opportunity to come here was special. It’s been an incredible journey.”

3. KNICKS, RAPTORS, PISTONS IN A NEW LOOK OPEN THE PRE-SEASON WITH Ws

Knicks 111, Hornets 109: In a game that featured the Knicks debuts of Karl-Anthony Towns (10 points, 4 vines, first basket), Mikal Bridges (4 points, first basket) and Landry Shamet (16 points, 4 3s), it was Deuce McBride (22 points ). , 4 3s), which led the Knicks past the Hornets.

• PG fight: LaMelo Ball (18 pts, 7 asts, 4 3s in 19 minutes) was back on the court for Charlotte for the first time since January 26th, while Jalen Brunson (12 pts, 3 asts in 15 minutes) only played the first half . as well as KAT and Bridges

Raptors 125, Wizards 98: RJ Barrett (17 pts, 7-10 FG) and Chris Boucher (13 pts, 6 Reb) combined for 30 points to lead the Raptors to a win in Montreal in the NBA Canada Series

• The magic number is 10: Five Raptors scored exactly 10 points in the win: Gradey Dick, Jamal Shead, Kelly Olynyk, Jahmi’us Ramsey and Jamison Battle
• No. 2 pick debuts: Alex Sarr finished his preseason debut with 15 points, four assists and three three-pointers in 22 minutes
• Canada loves Vince: Former Raptor and future Hall of Famer Vince Carter received a standing ovation from the Montreal audience

Pistons 120, Bucks 87: Detroit led 60-58 at halftime and then outscored the Bucks 60-29 in the second half behind Jaden Ivey (22 points, 3 threes), Cade Cunningham (13 points, 4 Reb, 4 Ast) and Ron Holland (10pts, 6reb, 5ast in his debut).

• Only 1st half: Damian Lillard (15 points, 4 asts, 4 3s) and Bobby Portis (16 points, 4 3s) led the Bucks in the second half. Giannis Antetokounmpo, meanwhile, did not play for Milwaukee

4. WNBA: LIBERTY RETURN TO FINALE, SUN FORCE GAME 5

Liberty 76, Aces 62 (NY wins 3-1): Two days after being held to a playoff career-low four points in New York’s Game 3 loss in Las Vegas, Sabrina Ionescu had 22 points and five 3-pointers to lead the Liberty to a decisive victory over the Aces . | Recap

• Everything together: Breanna Stewart (19 points, 14 vines, 5 ast, 4 black) filled the stat sheet for the Liberty. Jonquel Jones added 14 points, while freshman Leonie Fiebich (11 points, 7 rebs) scored a plus-28 in 28 minutes
• Ace’s streak(s) snapped: Las Vegas’ record-setting 12-game playoff winning streak was wiped out and the Aces’ hopes of becoming the second three-goal team ended
• A’ja’s historic season ends: The unanimous MVP finished the 2024 season leading the Aces in points (19), rebounds (10) and blocks (5) in the loss
• Back to the finale: The Liberty are returning to the WNBA Finals for the second straight year – and sixth time overall – and are now three wins away from their first-ever WNBA championship
• As the No. 1 seed The Liberty will host Game 1 of the 2024 WNBA Finals at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Thursday (8 ET, ESPN).

Sun 92, Lynx 82 (series tied 2-2): The Liberty will have to wait two more days to find out who their finals opponent will be, as Connecticut used a dominant second half to avoid elimination and a winner-take-all Game 5 on Tuesday in Minneapolis (8 ET, ESPN2). to force. | Recap

• Increase in the 2nd half: Whatever was said in the Connecticut locker room at halftime worked, as the Suns dominated the 3rd quarter (25-13), took control and won the 4th quarter (24-19) to seal the victory
• Ty Riffic: Tyasha Harris twisted her ankle in the first round and was held scoreless in just 13 minutes total in the Game 4 semifinals. The ankle looked good Sunday when she competed and scored a team-high 20 points with four 3s
• Balanced effort: DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas added 18 points each (with AT adding a game-high 11 dimes), while DiJonai Carrington and Marina Mabrey added 15 and 10 points, respectively

5. WHAT’S IN THE STORE THIS WEEK? IMPORTANT DEBUS TO WATCH

The opening weekend of the preseason was us a historic father-son moment (with LeBron and Bronny) and a game-winning buzzer-beater (courtesy of Golden State’s Lindsay Waters).

We also witnessed outstanding rookie performances (by Rob Dillingham and Dalton Knecht) as well as our first looks at new rosters (see Russell Westbrook with Denver, KAT and Bridges with NY, Donte DiVincezno in Minnesota).

And that despite the fact that less than half of the league was in action. This week the remaining 16 teams will also be on the hardwood, giving us plenty of games to circle on the calendar.

Monday

• Pelicans vs. Magic (1:30 ET, LP): Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for Orlando and Dejounte Murray for NOLA are making their preseason debuts on a new team
• Sixers vs. NZ Breakers (7 ET, LP): A first look at Paul George and Caleb Martin alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey for Philly
• Mavs vs. Grizzlies (8 ET, LP): How many threes will Klay Thompson make in his preseason debut in Dallas?
• Spurs vs. Thunder (8 ET, NBA TV): The newly minted Thunder will debut Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein in the preseason, while the Spurs will feature No. 4 pick Stephon Castle since Victor Wembanyama and Chris Paul are not expected to play
• Jazz vs. Rockets (9 ET, LP): No. 3 draft pick Reed Sheppard makes his Summer League debut after a strong performance

Tuesday

• Hornets vs. Heat (7 ET, LP): A pair of All-Summer Leaguers for the Heat – first-round pick Kel’el Ware makes his debut while Jaime Jaquez Jr. begins his second year
• Cavs vs. Bulls (7 ET, LP): Josh Giddey’s preseason debut for the Bulls against a Cavs team that bounces back with almost the entirety of last year’s roster
• Pistons vs. Sonnen (7 ET, LP): The second preseason game for both teams, but the only one in East Lansing, MI
• Hawks vs. Pacers (7:30 ET, NBA TV): The preseason debut of No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher with the Hawks, while 2020 No. 2 pick James Wiseman makes his first appearance for the Pacers
• Clippers vs. Nets (10:30 a.m. ET, LP): After opening the preseason in Hawaii, the Clippers will play in Oceanside on Tuesday and Seattle on Friday before making their debut at the Intuit Dome on Monday, October 14th

Wednesday

• Kings vs. Warriors (10:30 a.m. ET, ESPN): The Kings will see the debut of DeMar DeRozan against a familiar opponent – a Warriors team that the Kings eliminated in the play-in tournament last spring

Friday

• Blazers vs. Clippers (10:30 a.m. ET, LP): The final team to open the preseason, Portland, will see the debut of No. 7 pick Donovan Clingan and offseason additions Deni Avdija and Devonte’ Graham

Memory: Lineups change quickly in the preseason. Stay up to date with the NBA app.