Oversized headphones on his ears and dressed in full Lakers gold as he geared up for his NBA Summer League debut, rookie Bronny James looked so much like his famous father LeBron it caused people to do a double-take.
Bronny James took his place in the starting lineup for Los Angeles and his professional career was formally underway on Saturday.
If all goes as planned, the 19-year-old James and his dad would become the first father-son pair to play in the NBA at the same time – and on the same team no less.
James scored four points with a pair of assists, two rebounds and a steal in just under 22 minutes of court time as the Lakers lost 108-94 to the Sacramento Kings.
James missed his initial two shots while playing nearly six minutes in his first run of action and received cheers when returning to the court at the 8:17 mark of the second quarter.
He was initially whistled for his first career foul on a three-point attempt by Sacramento’s Xavier Sneed and argued briefly before the play went to replay review and was overturned.
James scored his first NBA points on a driving layup about six minutes before halftime and later missed a pair of free throws in his first trip to the line.
Drafted by the Lakers with the 55th overall selection in the second round out of the University of Southern California, James started against the Kings in his much-anticipated debut at the California Classic and will likely get another chance to play Sunday, when the Lakers face the Warriors again at the Chase Center.
Bronny is NBA career scoring leader LeBron’s oldest son.
He survived cardiac arrest last July during a team workout at USC and was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect.
The younger James signed a four-year contract that will pay him $7.9 million.
“It’s for sure amplified the amount of pressure,” Bronny James said this past week when formally introduced by the Lakers.
“I’ve already seen it in (social) media and on the internet and stuff talking about (how) I might not deserve an opportunity.
“But I’ve been dealing with stuff like this for my whole life. It’s nothing different. It’s more amplified for sure, but I can get through it.”