LeBron James makes history with 'surreal' first game alongside son Bronny

LeBron James and his son Bronny made history on Sunday night by becoming the first father-and-son pair to play together in an NBA game during the Lakers' preseason matchup against the Phoenix Suns in a moment that James Snr described as "surreal".

Bronny, who celebrated his 20th birthday that day, entered the game at the start of the second quarter, marking the special occasion.

The iconic moment began with both Jameses defending side by side as the Suns inbounded the ball. LeBron led the game with 19 points, while Bronny went scoreless.

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Despite the heartwarming moment, the Lakers lost the game 114–118, but the result is of little consequence for either of the James men.

"Wow, that was surreal!" LeBron wrote on X afterward, adding teary-eyed and prayer emojis.

The 39-year-old basketball legend has made no secret over the years that playing with his son was a driving force in him continuing his career, which has now spanned two decades.

"It’s just pure joy, man" he said, as reported by the BBC when talking about the prospect of playing with his son at the start of the season. "You can’t even put it into words."

As it stands, Bronny will have to do a lot to quell criticism of nepotism as the young star managed to land a four-year, $7.9 million deal (€7.5 million/£6.5 million), as reported by the Daily Mail, with the team, despite only one season of college basketball where he managed an average of 4.8 points and 2.8 rebounds per game during his season at USC.

Although Bronny was selected by the Lakers as the number 55 overall draft pick ahead of this season entirely on his own merit, as The New York Times has suggested, the untested rookie may not get a lot of game time this season.

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That’s something LeBron is acutely aware of, but he is still backing the Lakers to give Bronny at least a couple of games this season.

"If we get a couple of opportunities on the floor throughout the course of the season, obviously that’s going to be amazing," LeBron said, as reported by GB News.

"(I’m) just super proud of him to be able to get to this point. He’s a man, and he’s ready to go."

For Bronny’s part, he’s also aware that he probably won’t find himself with a permanent spot on the Laker’s roster, but insists he's more than ready to put in the work with the Lakers' G League South Bay to work his way up to the Lakers' roster.

"I know that I’m not going to be thrown into the rotation immediately," he said. "So, I’ve accepted that role and I’m coming in and getting better every day and learning from the vets and people that are going to be receiving heavy minutes."

"I have no problem sitting back and learning these first couple years and then building up from there."

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