LeBron James once again made history with the Los Angeles Lakers as he and his son, Bronny James, became the first father-son duo to play in an NBA regular season game together. During the Lakers’ season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday, Bronny saw the court for three minutes, allowing LeBron and Bronny to officially take the court together.
The moment was special for a multitude of reasons, and a priceless moment for the father-son duo that LeBron says he will “never forget.”
For Anthony Davis, who led the team with 36 points and 16 rebounds, the moment was even better because the Lakers actually won the game, as Los Angeles defeated the Timberwolves 110-103.
“Fortunately I’ve been a part of a lot of LeBron moments since I’ve been here, but that’s a special moment … Looking at them checking in at the same time at the scores table gave me little chills. You see it in preseason, but we wasn’t really at home. To do it in front of this crowd was a special moment. This was the first time we had a LeBron moment that was something huge and we won,” Davis said, via Spectrum SportsNet. “So every other [historic] thing we always lost so it kinda kills the moment, but it was a special moment for everybody.”
AD sounds off on the moment LeBron and Bronny shared the court together. pic.twitter.com/fLaGmwD2ID
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) October 23, 2024
The Lakers unfortunately have a trend of coming up short during LeBron’s biggest moments. When LeBron surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA’s all-time scoring leader in 2023, the Lakers wound up losing 133-130 to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Over a year later when LeBron became the first player in NBA history to reach 40,000 points in his career, the Lakers lost to the Denver Nuggets.
The Lakers have also fallen short when it comes to winning their season openers in the recent past. The team’s win over the Timberwolves on Tuesday was the first time they won their season opener since 2016. Tuesday’s win broke two streaks, allowing the Lakers to win during a historic moment for LeBron and in a season opener. The game also marked JJ Redick’s first victory as the team’s head coach.
All in all, it was a special season opener for the Lakers on multiple fronts, but the team will turn their attention to their second game of the season against the Phoenix Suns on Friday.