EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — The Lakers say they don’t know if LeBron and Bronny James will make history Tuesday as the first father-son duo to appear in a real NBA game, but that won’t stop baseball’s royal family from being there to witness it.
When the Lakers host the Minnesota Timberwolves in the season opener for both teams Tuesday, Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. will be at Crypto.com Arena, the younger Griffey told MLB Network Radio Monday.
The Griffeys are part of a rare group of father-son duos to appear in the same major professional sporting game — a feat they accomplished when they both played for the Seattle Mariners on Aug. 31, 1990.
“It’s a big deal for me and my dad to be there,” Ken Griffey Jr. said to MLB Network’s Jon Paul Morosi, on the “Road to Cooperstown” show that airs on SiriusXM. “We made history and now we get to watch history, so that’s what’s going to be cool about it.”
Well, junior, you should know that when Lakers coach J.J. Redick was asked after practice Monday if plans had been finalized to get Bronny into the game when LeBron is on the court, Redick said “nothing has been finalized yet.”
And when Bronny was asked if he knew if he was going to play, he said, “no I do not.”
Whether the Griffeys or anyone else, for that matter, believes the Lakers balk at making history is another matter. Bronny said he knew the Griffeys planned to attend the game.
The Griffeys, circa 1990. (Ken Levine / Allsport via Getty Images)
“It’s going to be a crazy experience. Especially with what they’ve done,” Bronny said.
Bronny, 20, briefly appeared alongside LeBron in a preseason game on Oct. 6, becoming the first son to play in an NBA game of any kind with his dad. The younger James, drafted No. 55 overall in June, mostly struggled this preseason for the Lakers but gained momentum by scoring 17 points in the Lakers’ last exhibition contest Friday against Golden State. He had scored just eight points the entire preseason before his outburst against the Warriors.
“Yeah it’s gonna be insane — only two (sic) families to do it, so it’s going to be a crazy experience. Especially with what they’ve done,” Bronny said.
(Note: It’s rare, but it won’t be the second time. If Bronny plays Tuesday, the Jameses will join a group that also includes hockey’s Howes — father Gordie and sons Mark and Marty with the 1979-80 Hartford Whalers — and Tim Raines Sr. and Tim Raines Jr., who appeared together for the Baltimore Orioles in 2001.)
Bronny has watched countless Lakers games from a courtside seat over the past six years, since his dad joined the team as a free agent in the summer of 2018 and moved the family from Cleveland. But he has yet to play there in purple and gold — none of the Lakers’ five preseason contests were at Crypto.
“I think it will be different,” Bronny admitted. “No different than me getting ready for any game, but just the feeling of being in our home arena for the first time playing a game, that’s special.”
Should Bronny hear his name called from Redick, he said he wouldn’t have time to reflect on the road he’s traveled to make history, “especially in the heat of the moment.”
And should he get on the floor with the Lakers’ No. 6, a 6-foot–8 fella who happens to be the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, Bronny said he has decided on how he will call his attention. As the duo has said previously, “dad” while in the flow of a game probably won’t work.
“Probably Bron,” Bronny said. “That will probably be the easiest one, I’d say.”
Required reading
(Top photo: Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
