LeBron James' left-handed dunk sparks priceless reaction from Bronny James as father-son duo makes NBA history

LeBron James made his preseason debut for the LA Lakers on Sunday against the Phoenix Suns. James played 16 minutes first-half minutes and had a highlight left-handed dunk late in the first quarter. His son, Bronny James, had a priceless reaction from the bench before they made history in the second period.

With less than two minutes in the opening period, the Lakers recovered a loose ball after a Jaxson Hayes hustle play. Hayes passed it to LeBron, who ran like a freight train to the other side. Grayson Allen tried to stop the four-time NBA champion but LeBron quickly blew by him.

"King James" hammered it with his left hand, which received a standing ovation from the Lakers bench, including Bronny. The second-round from the 2024 NBA Draft pick couldn't help but smile and applaud his 39-year-old father's athletic prowess.

Bronny James, who celebrated his 20th birthday on the same night, entered the game in the second period. LeBron James also started the quarter and made history with his son as the first father-son duo to play in the same preseason game.

Their record will become official when they do it in the regular season, but they joined a short list of father-son duos in sports to play for the same team at the same time. Ted and Charlie Nesser first did in 1921 for NFL's Columbus Panhandles. Gordie Howe and his sons Marty and Mark followed decades later as they played for the Hartford Whalers during the 1979-80 NHL season.

Quite possibly the famous father-son duo on the list is Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. They played together for 51 games in the 1990 and 1991 MLB seasons with the Seattle Mariners.

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LeBron James proud of Bronny's progress ahead of his NBA regular season debut

LeBron James proud of Bronny's progress ahead of his NBA regular season debut. (Photo: IMAGN)

LeBron James expressed pride in Bronny's progress ahead of his official NBA regular season debut, which comes in less than three weeks.

James said he was happy to see Bronny play in the preseason and told reporters on Friday that his son would eventually adjust to the pros.

"Every rank that you climb is always an adjustment to get used to it. So when he went to middle school to high school to USC and now to the pros, it's always an adjustment he makes," James said [H/T NBA.com].

"So with more and more time he's on the floor with pros, the speed, the cadence and all those things, you get better and better. And you've got to (remember) that he lost pretty much almost a third of a season last year because of the condition, but he's got better and better every day. He's continued to put the work in."

Bronny suffered a cardiac arrest last year which caused him to miss games for UST and his draft stock to fall. The Lakers drafted him 55th overall.