LeBron and Bronny James could debut as teammates when the Los Angeles Lakers take on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday in the opening night of the 2024-25 NBA regular season. And if LeBron and Bronny do take the floor at the Staples Center, another famous father-son duo, Ken Griffey Jr. and Ken Griffey Sr., will be in attendance to watch the historic event.
“I’m actually going to the game. I’m going to take my dad. First father and son to play baseball and now first father and son to play basketball,” Griffey Jr. said on The Road to Cooperstown podcast. “So it’s a big deal for my dad and I to be there. We made history, now we get to watch history. That’s what’s gonna be cool about it.”
Griffey Jr. was selected by the Seattle Mariners with the No. 1 pick in the 1987 MLB Draft, and made his professional debut in 1989 at the age of 19. The Griffeys ended up playing together for the first time in a 5-2 win against the Kansas City Royals on Aug. 31, 1990. A few weeks later, on Sept. 14, the Griffeys famously hit back-to-back home runs in the first inning of a loss to the California Angels.
LeBron and Bronny James shared the court in the Lakers’ 118-114 preseason loss to the Phoenix Suns back on Oct. 6, but it’s unclear if Bronny will see the floor on Tuesday for the regular season opener alongside his four-time NBA MVP father. But if it does happen, they will become the first father and son to appear in an NBA game.
Earlier this month, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that the Lakers were planning to have LeBron and Bronny James play together at some point in the Lakers’ season opener. Lakers coach J.J. Redick was noncommittal when asked about it on Monday, saying “nothing has been finalized.”
It’s unclear what the 2024-25 season will hold for the 20-year-old Bronny, who the Lakers selected with the No. 55 pick in the NBA Draft in June.
It’s quite possible that Bronny could be sent down to the South Bay Lakers, the team’s G League affiliate, after averaging 4.2 points on 29.7% from the field in six preseason games. In the Lakers’ preseason finale on Friday, he scored 17 points while adding four rebounds and three steals.
