The Los Angeles Lakers set the stage for history during June’s NBA Draft. When they selected Bronny James at No. 55 overall in the second round and then re-signed his father, LeBron James, in July, they ensured that a father-son duo would share the court together for the first time in NBA history. It was no longer a matter of “if,” but “when.”
Now we’re starting to get an idea of when exactly the “when” will come. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Lakers are planning for the historic night to occur early in the season, possibly “as soon as opening night.” Of course, setting up that moment can’t be done with absolute precision, at this point.
The elder James may still be a superstar, but his son is very much a work in progress. After a disappointing Summer League and a thus far underwhelming preseason, it is evident that he has a ways to go before he is ready to contribute to winning at the NBA level. He is expected to spend a lot of time playing in the G League this season, suggesting that the Lakers would likely prefer his big moment with his father to come in a game that has already been decided.
In other words, the moment should probably come late in a game with a lopsided scoring margin. It’s possible that opening night provides that opportunity. It’s also possible that the Lakers play a string of close games to open the season. If they’re set on having the occasion come at home and early in the season, that might mean inserting him into the competitive portion of one of their first three games, all of which are at Staples Center. Doing so would likely be suboptimal, even if it is only for a small portion of the game.
Both members of the James family will be involved in how this situation is managed. They’d probably prefer the moment to be more than, well, a moment. In a perfect world, they get a few minutes on the floor together to really soak it in rather than, say, Bronny checking in for the final few seconds of a quarter just to get it out of the way early. For now, we can assume that we’ll see them together early on, but what that exactly means remains a mystery.
