Lakers defeat Timberwolves in season opener as Bronny James makes historical past: Dwell response and updates
LOS ANGELES — The James household made historical past Tuesday night time with the patriarch, LeBron James, and his eldest son, Bronny, showing in the identical regular-season recreation, marking the primary time a father-son duo shared the court docket within the NBA’s 79-year existence.
Within the 2024-25 season opener, the place the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 110-103, the large second occurred with 4:00 left within the second quarter when each LeBron and Bronny emerged from the bench collectively to test into the sport.
The Lakers had been forward 51-35 on the time and LeBron already scored six factors with three rebounds. The daddy and son peeled off their warmup jerseys after approaching the scorer’s desk for a stint that lasted 2:31.
“I used to be questioning in the course of the useless ball why everybody was cheering so loud, after which I noticed what was occurring,” Lakers coach JJ Redick mentioned. “We had been feeling out the sport, and it was going to be in the direction of the tip of the primary half, and the sport introduced a possibility for (Bronny) to get some minutes.”
Bronny gave up a fast basket to Julius Randle, had his first shot blocked by reigning Defensive Participant of the 12 months Rudy Gobert after which tried a shot on a cross from, who else, LeBron, with about 1:40 left earlier than halftime however missed. Bronny guarded All-Star Anthony Edwards and compelled a missed shot on the Lakers’ subsequent defensive possession.
Throughout their transient time collectively, LeBron, the NBA’s all-time main scorer, crushed a baseline dunk in entrance of Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr., who know a factor or two about well-known father-son duos.
“You prepared? Simply play care free… exit and play exhausting.”
12 months 22 with a bit of recommendation for 12 months 1. https://t.co/SKNTEA4gkQ pic.twitter.com/g5Trgujjzt
— NBA (@NBA) October 23, 2024
When Bronny subbed out with 1:29 earlier than halftime, Los Angeles public tackle announcer Lawrence Tanter known as consideration to what simply occurred, telling the sold-out crowd it had “simply witnessed historical past.”
“That second, us being on the scorer’s desk collectively and checking in collectively is one thing I’ll always remember,” LeBron mentioned. “Irrespective of how outdated I get, irrespective of how my reminiscence could fade as I become older or no matter, I’ll always remember that second.”
The remainder of the James household — spouse and mom Savannah, son and brother Bryce, daughter and sister Zhuri, who turned 10 on Tuesday — had been seated on the baseline close to the Laker bench. LeBron turned emotional speaking about them as a part of the milestone he and Bronny reached.
“Every part was simply nice right this moment,” LeBron mentioned. “Every part, from the second I awoke. I noticed my daughter earlier than she went to high school. I went to work, noticed my son at work. Get to the sport, simply the whole lot, man.”
As for Bronny, who went scoreless in these three minutes and didn’t return, mentioned he tried “to not deal with the whole lot that’s happening round me; I’m centered on stepping into as a rookie and attempting to not mess up.
“I used to be a bit of anxious going into it,” mentioned Bronny, who the Lakers drafted at No. 55 in June. “That first recreation stepping on the court docket, it’s a bit of nerve wracking. However as soon as we received on the court docket, we received up and down a pair occasions, all of it went away and I felt fairly good.”
“Household over the whole lot” 🤞👑@KingJames and Bronny caught up with @TaylorRooks following their win in opposition to Minnesota! pic.twitter.com/8mnV7Y9kA9
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) October 23, 2024
The sport itself belonged to Anthony Davis, who opened with a monstrous 36 factors and 16 rebounds in 37 minutes. Edwards paced the Timberwolves with 27 factors and 5 3s. Davis now has 100 video games with at the very least 25 factors and 15 rebounds.
LeBron completed with 16 factors, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Rui Hachimura added 18 factors for the Lakers. The sport, and win, was the primary that counted for Redick on the Lakers’ bench, and he was met with the customary water bottle bathe by his gamers for successful his first recreation. The crew employed him over the summer time after one season as an NBA broadcaster for ESPN and a 15-year taking part in profession earlier than that.
Edwards paced the Timberwolves with 27 factors and 5 3s. Randle, the previous Laker who was traded to Minnesota by the New York Knicks within the blockbuster deal for Karl-Anthony Cities in September, completed with 16 factors and 9 rebounds in his Wolves debut.
“That is the primary time we had a LeBron second that was one thing large and we gained,” cracked Davis, referring to, amongst different issues, the Lakers dropping on the night time LeBron handed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar because the league’s most prolific scorer.
The LeBron-Bronny simultaneous check-in marked the primary time in NBA historical past {that a} father and son appeared in an actual recreation collectively and simply the fourth time in fashionable main American skilled sports activities. LeBron and Bronny, who briefly appeared collectively in a preseason recreation on Oct. 6, joined the NHL’s Howes, father Gordie and sons Mark and Marty with the 1979-80 Hartford Whalers, Tim Raines Sr. and Tim Raines Jr. (Baltimore Orioles, 2001) and the Griffeys (Seattle Mariners, 1990).
The Griffeys, who took in a pregame meal with Nike executives at Smashburger at L.A. Dwell, had been seated beneath the basket on the opposite finish of the court docket from the Lakers’ bench. Ken Sr. and Ken Jr. embraced LeBron and Bronny (bear in mind, Bronny’s beginning title is LeBron) and posed for footage earlier than the sport.
“Within the second, we nonetheless had a job to do,” LeBron mentioned. “We weren’t attempting to make it a circus, we weren’t attempting to make it about us. We needed to make it in regards to the crew.”
That is LeBron’s twenty second season, which ties him with Vince Carter for essentially the most seasons in NBA historical past. At age 39, LeBron has gained 4 NBA championships, 4 league MVPs, began a report 20 All-Star Video games and is coming off his third Olympic gold medal with Workforce USA in Paris, amongst different profession highlights.
Bronny, 20, was getting into the eighth grade when his dad joined the Lakers and the household moved to Los Angeles full time from Cleveland. He talked about LeBron’s main the Cavaliers to the NBA title in 2016 and watching him co-lead Workforce USA’s comeback in opposition to Serbia in an Olympic semifinal final summer time as the 2 most inspiring issues he’d watched his father do on the court docket.
“With each of these I used to be like, ‘it is a loopy sport, like, I actually need to be a part of this,’” Bronny mentioned.
Bronny overcame coronary heart surgical procedure in the summertime of 2023 to play collegiately for the USC Trojans final season. Although he principally struggled as a task participant, the Lakers not solely drafted Bronny however awarded him a four-year, $7.9 million contract — uncommon for somebody chosen as low within the draft.
“We had a second when he was drafted, all of us received a possibility to be collectively as a household in New York,” LeBron mentioned. “We had a second there as a result of we had been simply interested by not too way back that the scare occurred. … And when he’s capable of grace an NBA ground, if that’s tonight or at any time when the case could also be, it’ll be one other a type of moments simply to know the adversity that he went by way of.
“I’ve had a few relations which have had coronary heart surgical procedures. A few of them older, a few of them youthful. And to understand how lengthy it type of takes to get again to your self, to see him be capable to play in a university Division I recreation the identical yr that he had coronary heart surgical procedure was, like, a ‘wow’ second. And I knew that at that second that there actually was going to be nothing to cease him from attending to this — to something that he needs to do. And he needed to proceed to play basketball.”
LeBron illustrated his son’s need to remain on the court docket by recalling Bronny’s first phrases after coronary heart surgical procedure, which adopted an episode of cardiac arrest he suffered whereas understanding with the Trojans two summers in the past.
“One of many first issues that he requested, he requested the medical doctors after his coronary heart surgical procedure, like, ‘When can I play once more?’” LeBron mentioned. “Not like, ‘How lengthy is it going to take for my coronary heart to heal?’ Or not, ‘How lengthy was I in surgical procedure?’ None of these. He requested, ‘When can I play once more?’”
Bronny’s debut was not fairly as explosive as his dad’s first recreation as an expert. On Oct. 29, 2003, LeBron scored 25 factors with six boards and 9 assists for the Cleveland Cavaliers in Sacramento, months after they made him the No. 1 choose of the draft.
When the G League season begins subsequent month, the Lakers are anticipated to shuttle Bronny forwards and backwards between the NBA and their affiliate at South Bay. When Bronny isn’t within the G League, he’s not anticipated to carry a serious position on the Lakers, at the very least initially.
“I talked about it years and years in the past. And for this second to come back on, that is fairly cool,” LeBron mentioned. “I don’t know that it’s really going to hit the each of us for a minute.”
At halftime, the Lakers honored the late Jerry West with a tribute video. West, who died on June 12 at 86, is likely one of the biggest to ever play for the Lakers and guided the franchise to 6 championships as common supervisor.
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(Picture: Frederic J. Brown / AFP through Getty Pictures)
