LeBron, Bronny James play together as Lakers for first time

Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James (9), right, steps onto the court with Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) during the first half of a preseason NBA basketball game Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, in Palm Desert, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

PALM DESERT – LeBron James and his oldest son, Bronny, played together as Lakers for the first time in Sunday night’s preseason game against the Phoenix Suns at Acrisure Arena, unofficially becoming the NBA’s first on-court father-and-son duo.

The elder James was in the starting lineup after being given Friday’s preseason off by coach JJ Redick.

The younger James, who turned 20 Sunday, entered the game in the second quarter, grabbed a rebound 54 seconds later, then committed a turnover.

Bronny James scored two points in 16 minutes, 4 seconds off the bench in Friday’s 124-107 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves at Acrisure Arena. He missed his first five shots and made his last, a driving layup with 56.9 seconds left, had one rebound, one assist and one blocked shot.

The Lakers were outscored by 12 when he was on the court, matching their third-worst performance. The team was outscored by 20 in the 10 minutes forward Maxwell Lewis was on the court and 13 in the 24:32 rookie guard Dalton Knecht was on the court. The Lakers were also outscored by 12 in the 21:42 starting forward Rui Hachimura was on the court.

Bronny James made himself eligible for the June NBA draft after averaging 4.8 points per game in his lone season at USC and was chosen by the Lakers with the 55th overall selection. He played 490 minutes over 25 games with six starts for the Trojans.

The 6-foot-2-inch, 210-pound guard missed the first eight games of the season while recovering from a medical procedure to treat a congenital heart defect.

He went into cardiac arrest during a basketball workout at the University of Southern California last year because of a congenital heart defect. (CNS)