LeBron James and his son Bronny James shared a heartfelt moment Sunday during a Los Angeles Lakers preseason game. Fans, however, couldn’t help but find humor in what was supposed to be a touching scene.
The Lakers took on the Phoenix Suns in their second preseason game held at Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs, Calif.
Bronny came off the bench for the Lakers to start the second quarter. The moment marked the first time Bronny and LeBron James had shared the floor as Lakers for an actual game, preseason or otherwise.
LeBron James. Bronny James.
The father-son duo share the court for the first time together! 👏 pic.twitter.com/93hC7k64gK
— NBA (@NBA) October 7, 2024
LeBron and Bronny stood next to each other as the Suns inbounded from the backcourt to begin the quarter. Spectators on X couldn’t help but notice 39-year-old LeBron pick up his man full-court, which was quite an unusual sight in an inconsequential preseason game.
A handful of fans joked that LeBron did it just to make sure the two got a good photo together.
Cool Father/son moment, but pretty funny that a 40 year old LBJ walks up like he’s going to press full court in a preseason game when he’s clearly just angling for the photo op with Bronny 🤣 https://t.co/zCTmfABcBk
— Nick B. (@N1ckBauch) October 7, 2024
LeBron tried to pretend he was coincidentally standing next to Bronny for the pic. he’s so unserious LMFAOO https://t.co/39SqiWGL9C
— ꙳ (@3randyn) October 7, 2024
LeBron walked right to him to let the photographers get their shots. Such a pro. https://t.co/KOyJJPZ8Cc
— Ben Axelrod (@BenAxelrod) October 7, 2024
Lebron picked up full court for the photo op. He not slick hahaha https://t.co/qt0w3UOxtL
— Ahnnoying 🇬🇭 (@Ahmed_Tee13) October 7, 2024
There’s a very real possibility LeBron actually did stand next to Bronny for the photo op. But given the significance of the moment for the James patriarch, not just as a player but also as a father, it’s hard to blame him for wanting to make sure the scene was immortalized properly.
It also happened in what was an otherwise meaningless preseason game that the Lakers lost 118-114. LeBron James led all scorers with 19 points on 8/12 shooting to go along with 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Bronny was scoreless and grabbed 2 rebounds in 13 minutes of action.
With the James father-son dynamic sure to draw a lot of eyeballs next season, LeBron has just one rule Bronny must abide by.
