The Los Angeles Lakers are likely to attract the attention of many NBA fans in their season opener on Oct. 22 for a variety of reasons — but one of them stands out above the rest.
After selecting LeBron James’ son Bronny in the 2024 NBA Draft, the Lakers are in position to become the first team in NBA history to have a father-son duo on the floor together.
NBA insider Zach Lowe believes L.A. will give the people what they want on opening night.
“He’s 100 percent playing in the opening game so that they can have a moment together, right?” Lowe said. “That’s gonna happen, so they pass to each other, whatever it ends up being.”
The younger James is expected to spend much of his rookie season in the G League, but the G League regular season doesn’t start until November.
That could open the door for him to get some opportunities (even if they’re limited) with the Lakers at the NBA level before the organization sends him to the G League so he can continue to develop.
The younger James has potential, but he seemingly has some work to do before he’ll be ready to be a rotation piece in the NBA. His highs and lows were on display during his Summer League stint this offseason, as he struggled at times but had a couple of nice performances to close things out.
Meanwhile, the elder James, 39, is looking to put together another memorable individual season — but this time, he’d like to see it translate to team success. The future Hall of Famer remains one of the league’s top players, but he hasn’t tasted the NBA Finals since 2020 when the Lakers won it all.
There won’t be many free passes for L.A. in the team’s first five games this season. The Lakers will face the Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, Suns (again) and then the Cleveland Cavaliers to get things started.
One has to wonder what that will mean for the younger James and his playing time, as L.A. would certainly prefer to get off to a fast start this season while using its best rotation. But when the Lakers open their season against the Timberwolves in about a month, there seems to be a growing theory that the younger James will get a taste of the action.
