LeBron James and eldest son Bronny James claimed a piece of NBA history on Sunday after making their long-awaited first appearance alongside each other for the Los Angeles Lakers.
The duo appeared together at the start of the second quarter in the Lakers’ 118-114 preseason defeat to the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert, east of Los Angeles.
While LeBron James impressed with 19 points in just 16 minutes and 20 seconds on court before sitting out the second half, Bronny found the going harder with zero points in just over 13 minutes on court. The younger James attempted just one shot.
Photo: AP
“It was cool for both of us, especially our family,” LeBron James, 39, said afterward of playing alongside Bronny, who celebrated his 20th birthday on Sunday.
“It’s definitely a moment I’ll never forget,” LeBron James said. “As a father it means everything. For someone who didn’t have a dad growing up, to be able to have that influence on your son, to be able to have moments with your son, to work with your son — that’s one of the greatest things a father could ever hope for.”
There were moments on court that felt surreal, he said.
“We came out of a timeout and we kind of stood next to each other. I kind of looked at him. It was like being in The Matrix or something. It just didn’t feel real. But it was great to have those moments,” he added.
Anticipation about when the James duo would become the first father-son duo to appear in the same NBA lineup together has built since the Lakers picked Bronny with the 55th pick in the NBA Draft in June.
“I’m thrilled that I get to be a part of this,” Lakers coach J.J. Redick said after the James double-act.
“It’s cool as a basketball fan. I think it speaks to the longevity of LeBron and his competitive stamina. And it speaks to the work that Bronny has done to get to this point,” Redick said.
Redick introduced Bronny James to the floor with the Lakers leading 34-25 in the second quarter.
LeBron James has said that playing with Bronny on the same team has given him a new lease on life as he enters the 22nd season of a glittering career.
“It’s a lot of excitement, a pure joy, to be able to come to work every day, put in hard work with your son every day and be able to see him continue to grow,” LeBron James said.
“We push each other. He pushes me. I push him. We push our teammates, and vice versa,” he said.
“So, it’s just a very joyous moment not only for myself, but for our family,” he said. “So, it’s pretty awesome. Gives you a lot of life.”
Bronny said at the Lakers’ recent media day he was fueled by the words of critics who have suggested he owes his place on the Lakers roster entirely to his superstar father.
“I’m just taking all that stuff, that criticism and backlash that people have given me, and turning it into something that can fuel me,” he said.
Bronny James is expected to spend most of his rookie season in the developmental G-League rather than the Lakers senior squad.
The Lakers are to open their 2024-2025 regular season campaign with a home game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Oct. 22.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
RSS