LeBron James and Bronny James make history playing together for Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James -- the NBA's all-time leading scorer -- and his son Bronny James make NBA history Oct. 22, taking to the court together as the Lakers faced the Minnesota Timberwolves in their season opener.
As the father-son duo teamed up, the rest of the James family watched the game unfold at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, including mom Savannah James, son Bryce and daughter Zhuri.
"Going up to the scorer's table with my dad and checking in for the first time was a crazy moment I will never forget," Bronny James said after the Lakers defeated the Timberwolves.
"It's always been family over everything, so to be able to have this moment where I'm working still and I could work alongside my son is one of the greatest gifts I've ever got from the man above and I'm going to take full advantage of it," LeBron James added.
LeBron James had 16 points in 35 minutes, while Bronny James did not score in the three minutes he played in his NBA debut.
Earlier in October, the Jameses also made history when they became the first father and son to play in an NBA preseason game together.
Bronny James is a guard with the Lakers, having been selected by the team in the 2024 NBA Draft.
"For a father, it means everything," the elder James, a forward, said following the Lakers' Oct. 6 preseason game against the Phoenix Suns. "For someone who didn't have that growing up, to be able to have that influence on your kids and have influence on your son, to be able to have moments with your son and then ultimately, to be able to work with your son, I think that's one of the greatest things that a father could ever hope for or wish for."
LeBron James' family often cheers him on at games, including at the 2024 Paris Olympics earlier this year, as the U.S. men's basketball team won gold.
The Akron, Ohio, native has said he takes fatherhood seriously, having grown up without his own dad present in his life, and he prioritizes being present with his kids.
Although two of his kids -- sons Bronny and Bryce James -- have followed him onto the basketball court, LeBron James has said he doesn't pressure them to play the sport.
"I've always let them just see if they had a love for [basketball]. Because, at the end of the day, nothing is going to come to fruition if you're just doing it because you feel like it's what your parents are doing. Nah, it's going to fizzle out too fast," he told Sports Illustrated in a 2022 cover interview with his sons.
Get to know the James family below.
Savannah James
LeBron James and Savannah James first met and started dating as teenagers in Akron, when he was a St. Vincent-St. Mary High School basketball star and she was a softball player for Buchtel High School.
The couple welcomed their first child in 2004 and their second in 2007 before they married in 2013. Their third child, their only daughter, was born in 2014.
Bronny James
The James' eldest child, LeBron Raymone "Bronny" James Jr., is named after his famous father. In an episode of the talk show "The Shop: Uninterrupted," the Lakers star revealed it was his son who changed his first name to Bronny and said he is determined to make a name for himself.
Bronny James was drafted by the Lakers on June 27, becoming the No. 55 pick in the 2024 NBA draft.
When asked about the pressure he feels following his dad's legendary footsteps into professional basketball, Bronny James said his decision to join the NBA draft wasn't heavily influenced by what his dad does.
"I just want to come in and get my work in and get better every day. I never really had a thought of me going to play with my dad. But that’s always there to take part of, but it wasn’t a main focus of mine," Bronny James said in a July 2 press conference.
In an August 2024 episode of Uninterrupted's "The Shop," LeBron James said he won't be known as "dad" on the basketball court.
"[He] cannot call me dad in the workplace," LeBron James said, according to ESPN. "He got to call me like '2-3' or 'Bron' or, you know, 'GOAT' if he want to. It's up to him. We cannot be running down the court, and he'd be like, 'Dad, push the ball up! Dad, I'm open! Dad, come on!'"
The NBA star continued, "Once we leave out the private facility and the gates close, I could be dad again [and] in the car if we ride together, at home I could be dad."
Bronny James wrapped his freshman season as a guard for the University of Southern California Trojans and according to his official college athletics biography, he also likes to play video games, go snowboarding and play the piano and violin, when he's not on the court.
In July 2023, Bronny James was hospitalized after suffering a cardiac arrest while at a USC basketball practice session. He was later discharged and a family spokesperson revealed the rising basketball star's health scare was likely due to a congenital heart defect.
Savannah and LeBron James both opened up about Bronny's cardiac arrest in "Starting 5," a Netflix docuseries, and credited the coaching and training staff at USC for helping to save their son's life.
"They are the reason Bronny is alive now and smiling and thriving and doing what any 19-year-old should be doing, and that's living out their dream," LeBron James said in a clip from the docuseries shared on X by James' "Uninterrupted" talk show page.
Bryce James
Like his father and older brother before him, Bryce Maximus James, the second of the James kids, is a basketball player. The 11th grader currently plays for the boys' basketball team at Sierra Canyon School in Chatsworth, California, the same team his brother Bronny played for and which their father sponsors.
In the 2022 "Sports Illustrated" interview, James expressed hope about playing professionally with both of his sons in the future.
"I feel like I could play for quite a while. So it's all up to my body, but more importantly, my mind," James said at the time. "If my mind can stay sharp and fresh and motivated, then the sky's not even a limit for me. I can go beyond that. But we shall see."
Zhuri Nova James
Zhuri is the youngest of the James children and was born in 2014.
James celebrated his daughter's birthday in an October tribute post, calling her his "princess."
"Happy Bday My Princess 👸🏾 Z!! Love you ♾️ and more!!!" the doting dad wrote in the caption.
Throughout the 2024 Paris Olympics, LeBron James was spotted alongside his wife and daughter, Zhuri, watching other athletes compete.
Zhuri has her own YouTube channel with over 200,000 subscribers.
