Melissa Rohlin

FOX Sports NBA writer

The conditions were perfect for LeBron James and his son Bronny to make history as the first father-son duo in an NBA game on Tuesday in the Los Angeles Lakers’ season opener against Minnesota.

Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr. (the first father and son to team up in the MLB more than 30 years ago) sat courtside. James’ wife Savannah and daughter Zhuri were in attendance. To make it even sweeter for the Jameses, it happened to be Zhuri’s 10th birthday.

Lakers coach JJ Redick knew he was substituting Bronny late in the first half. The moment came with four minutes left in the second quarter and the Lakers had a 16-point lead. Father and son went to the scorer’s table and did their warm-ups. The sold-out crowd in the Crypto.com Arena stood and cheered. Zhuri folded his hands and grinned broadly.

The following minutes were less eventful.

Bronny missed both shot attempts, including a 3-pointer after a pass from his father. He grabbed an offensive rebound. He briefly guarded Timberwolves superstar Anthony Edwards. He left the game with 1:19 left in the half and did not return.

But none of that mattered.

More importantly, it was a dream come true for James, who at 39 is the oldest active player in the league and whose goal was to play with his son. And it was a surreal moment for Bronny, the 20-year-old who was selected 55th overall in June’s NBA draft and didn’t know if he would ever play basketball again after suffering cardiac arrest at a USC practice in August 2023 had suffered.

“Of course that moment when we sat together at the scorer’s table and checked in together is something that I will never forget, no matter how old I get, no matter how my memory fades as I get older or whatever, I will never forget that moment. ” said James, who finished with 16 points, five rebounds and four assists in the Lakers’ 110-103 win.

When James and Bronny weren’t playing, they sat next to each other on the bench. A few times, James covered his face with a towel while speaking to his son so that no intrusive cameras could reveal his words.

(Related: LeBron and Bronny James are making history)

After the game, James and Anthony Davis, whose lockers are next to each other, talked football while getting dressed, which often happens after victories. Bronny dressed in silence.

James and Bronny then walked into the interview room together and sat next to each other on the podium while answering questions from the media.

James was asked to remember how he felt before his first game as a rookie with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003. At the time, he was an 18-year-old who was already being dubbed “The Chosen One” and his possible successor, Michael Jordan.

“It was very stressful for me,” James said. “I didn’t sleep much the night before. I didn’t sleep much during my pregame nap. I was extremely nervous. I felt the world of basketball on my shoulders and felt like pretty much everyone, except my family and friends, wanted me to fail and I just channeled that.

What are the expectations for Bronny and LeBron?

Of course, Bronny has completely different expectations. The question is not whether he will take over the league, but how long he can stay in the league.

However, he is still under overwhelming pressure. He doesn’t want to be in his father’s shadow. He doesn’t want his NBA tenure to be dismissed as nepotism. He wants to make a name for himself.

Bronny admitted it was “a little nerve-wracking” getting onto the court, but added that it wore off after walking up and down the court several times.

“I tried not to focus on everything that was going on around me and just focus on coming in as a freshman and not trying to screw everything up,” Bronny said. “But yeah, I really felt the energy and I appreciate Laker Nation for supporting me and my dad.”

Davis, who has been a teammate and close friend of James since 2019 and is very familiar with Bronny’s journey, said it was “monumental” watching them take the field together and admitted he was pulling for the rookie.

“We wanted the 3 to go in,” said Davis, who had 36 points and 16 rebounds. “Bron threw it to him and of course we wanted it to go in. But when I saw them checking in at the scorer’s table at the same time, I got a little goosebumps.”

While the moment was undeniably special, in many ways it was also clear that both father and son wanted to put it behind them for their own sake and that of the team.

James wants to focus on helping the Lakers become a championship-caliber franchise after a first-round playoff exit last season. He wants to help his son develop. And he doesn’t want his dream come true to become a distraction.

For Bronny, Tuesday was an incredible moment.

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He watched his father have so many of them and wished he could do something similar one day. He marveled at how James helped Cleveland overcome a 3-1 deficit in the 2016 NBA Finals. And watching James lead Team USA to overcome a 17-point deficit in the semifinals of the 2024 Olympics en route to the gold medal.

Now he was part of one of his father’s proudest moments. And it will take time for both of them to understand that.

“I don’t know if it’s actually going to hit us both for a little minute where we can really sit back and go, ‘Oh my goodness, that was pretty, that’s pretty crazy,'” James said.

Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.

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