LeBron James and Bronny James became the first father-son duo to feature in an NBA game during the Los Angeles Lakers' 110-103 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The former was included in the starting five, registering 16 points, five rebounds and four assists, and the NBA's all-time leading points scorer shared the court with his 20-year-old son for four minutes in the second quarter.
LeBron James had been taken off by coach JJ Redick before re-emerging with Bronny James beside him, although the latter missed a three-pointer and was 0-2 on field goal attempts during his historic cameo.
Nevertheless, a second-quarter surge from the Lakers proved decisive as they kicked off the 2024-25 season with a victory, and LeBron James was beaming with pride as he answered questions alongside his son in his post-game press conference.
"That moment, us being at the scorer's table together and checking in together, something I will never forget," the 39-year-old said. "No matter how old I get, no matter how my memory may fade as I get older or whatever, I will never forget that moment."
Meanwhile, Bronny James paid tribute to the Lakers' fanbase, who let out a huge roar at the Crypto.com Arena when he and his father were introduced together saying: "I tried not to focus on everything that was going on around me.
LeBron James.
— NBA (@NBA) October 23, 2024
Bronny James.
The first father-son duo to play together in the NBA! pic.twitter.com/naadFLoPmh
"[I] tried to focus on going in as a rookie and not trying to mess up. But yeah, I totally did feel the energy and I appreciate the Laker Nation for showing the support for me and my dad."
While the James family grabbed the headlines, Anthony Davis was the star of the show for the Lakers, amassing 36 points, 16 rebounds and four assists in their slender success.
Boston Celtics make winning start to title defence
In the other matchup on the opening evening, reigning champions Boston Celtics made a dominant start to their title defence with a 132-109 victory over the New York Knicks at TD Garden.
Joe Mazzulla's team notched a mammoth 43 points in the first quarter to open up a 19-point lead and did not look back, although they just missed out on setting a new NBA three-point record.
The Celtics registered 29 three-pointers over the course of the game, equalling the record for the most ever made in one NBA match set by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2020, but their desperate attempts to notch a 30th went unrewarded.
Eight of those three-pointers were scored by Jayson Tatum, who led the way with a total of 37 points and 10 assists, but the Celtics missed a staggering 13 consecutive three-point attempts after tying the Bucks' record.
Ben Knapton
