With four minutes remaining in the second quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers’ Opening Night victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves, head coach JJ Redick made the decision to insert Bronny James into the game alongside his father LeBron James, making history as the first father-son duo to play together in the NBA.
It was obviously an extremely special moment and one that was acknowledged as such by everyone who witnessed it. The Lakers fans inside Crypto.com Arena recognized it as well, giving LeBron and Bronny a massive ovation as they entered the game, something that apparently caught Redick off guard.
“The battle of competition, I was wondering during a dead ball why everybody started cheering so loud,” Redick said after the game. “And then I realized what was happening. ‘Oh, that’s cool. That’s cool.'”
Calling it cool is an understatement to say the least, but it was beautiful to see the Lakers crowd embrace Bronny throughout his time on the court. He wasn’t able to record a basket, missing both of his attempts, but did grab one offensive rebound.
As for why Redick made the call when he did, the Lakers coach felt it was a perfect time considering how the game was going and who else was on the court and believes Bronny played well in his NBA debut.
“We felt like, in terms of the feel of the game, being able to play those last few minutes with those two guys together,” Redick added. “AR was on the floor. AD was on the floor. Obviously, LeBron was on the floor. You know, it presented an opportunity for Bronny [James]. He’s played well. He’s competed throughout preseason just to give him a chance to get a go in a regular season game. He had a mismatch, and [Julius] Randle hit a tough two on him. But other than that, he played well.”
Having LeBron, Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves on the floor ensured Bronny wouldn’t have to do too much and the rookie did look solid on defense, even giving a nice challenge to force a miss from Timberwolves All-Star Anthony Edwards.
It was only a couple of minutes for Bronny on the court, and overall Redick seems to have a good handle on this situation as a whole. LeBron and Bronny had their moment and the Lakers got the victory, which is always the most important thing.
Bronny James reflects on taking the court for the first time with LeBron James on the Lakers
That moment of checking into an NBA game for the first time means so much to any player, but especially for Bronny James taking the court for the Lakers for the first time alongside his father LeBron James. Afterwards, Bronny said his focus was on not messing everything up, but admitted he felt that energy from the crowd.
“Yeah, I’d say so,” Bronny said, “I mean, try not to focus on everything that’s going on around me, and I’m trying to focus on going in as a rookie and not trying to mess up. But yeah, I mean, I totally did feel the energy, and I appreciate the Laker nation for showing the support for me and for my dad.”
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