History follows LeBron James wherever he goes.
On Tuesday night, James and his eldest son Bronny became the first father-son duo to play in the NBA together after appearing in the Los Angeles Lakers‘ 110-103 win against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
LeBron and Bronny are the first active father and son to ever play in the NBA, let alone for the same teamGetty
However, ‘The King’ also set an unwanted record on opening night of the 2024-25 NBA season.
LeBron become the all-time leader in missed field goals with 14,482, surpassing Kobe Bryant’s previous mark of 14,481 misses when he missed his sixth shot of the game in the third quarter of the contest.
The historic miss came on a transition layup attempt the four-time champion really should have made.
The shot was defended well by T-Wolves guard Donte DiVincenzo and Rudy Gobert scooped up the rebound as James picked himself up from the floor.
The record may have negative connotations but if anything it’s a testament to King James’ astonishing longevity and offensive prowess.
To miss that many shots, you have to take that many shots, and James has been the go-to guy for most of his 22-year NBA career (and counting).
It’s no coincidence that Bryant, one of the game’s other offensive juggernauts, is second on the list for all-time missed shots. In fact, nearly all of the players in the top 30 for career misses are Hall of Famers, from Michael Jordan to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain.
Bryant was the Lakers offense for most of the post Shaq years. He was a high-volume, high-usage player that averaged 25.0 points per game over his career and retired with 33,643 total points, good enough for fourth on the all-time list.
All-time leading scorer LeBron broke Bryant’s missed field goal record having played 146 more games. That’s mostly due to the way they got their buckets; most of James’ have come from dunks and high percentage layups while Bryant’s often came from contested jumpers and tough fadeaways.
Both icons ultimately got it done when it mattered, winning a combined nine NBA championships while leaving an indelible mark on the game of basketball.
Bryant is one of the league’s greatest ever scorersGetty
LeBron has now scored the most points and missed the most shots in NBA historyGetty
LeBron, 39, is now in the twilight of his career, having achieved all there is to achieve.
He’s slowly passing the torch to the new generation of stars, including son Bronny, who made his eagerly-awaited Lakers debut against the Timberwolves.
“Y’all ready?” a mic’d up elder James told a nervous looking Bronny from the sidelines before he checked into the game.
“Yup,” a reserved Bronny replied.
“You see the intensity, right? Just play carefree, though,” LeBron added.
“Don’t worry about mistakes. Just go out and play hard.”
LeBron said “It’s always been family over everything”, after the winGetty
LeBron and Bronny checked into the game together with four minutes left in the second quarter, prompting an ovation from the home crowd inside Crypto.com Arena.
Bronny was the 55th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, having played one season of college basketball for the USC Trojans.
Like many rookies, he’s not expected to see significant floor time this season.
The 20-year-old played three minutes on his Lakers debut, grabbing a rebound and missing a tip-in. His first NBA jump shot was a three-pointer that came up just short, and he checked out of the game with 1:19 to go in the second quarter.
“It’s always been family over everything,” LeBron, who finished the night with 16 points, five rebounds, and four assists, said alongside Bronny after the game.
“I lost a lot of time because of this league … so to be able to have this moment where I am working still and I can work alongside my son, it’s one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever got from the man above and I’m going to take full advantage of it.”
All in all it was a perfect night for the Lakers under new head coach JJ Redick.
The Purple & Gold started their campaign off with a big win against Anthony Edwards and a Timberwolves team widely expected to contend at the top of the Western Conference this season.
Next up for LeBron and the Lakers is another stern test in the form of Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns on Friday night.
