It was the alley-oop heard ‘round the world between LeBron James and his son, LeBron “Bronny” James Jr.
The duo connected for the NBA’s first-ever alley-oop bucket between a dad and his son during the Los Angeles Lakers’ 112-108 win over the Houston Rockets on Friday, April 24.
“He was calling for it,” LeBron said of the historic moment after the game. “I’ve seen his steps for so long, and he was gathering, and I was like, ‘Just go get it,’ so I was happy he was able to go up and reverse it.”
LeBron — who finished the game with 29 points and 13 rebounds — also called out the Rockets for allegedly showing “disrespect” towards his son in regards to Bronny’s three-point shooting skills.
Bronny hit a three-pointer in the second quarter of Friday’s game, off a screen from his dad.
“He also made a three when they tried to disrespect him and go under on a pick-and-roll,” LeBron told reporters. “He gave us great minutes; everybody who played gave us great minutes, but that was a special moment, obviously.”
He continued, “Young players, the amount of confidence that a young kid in our league can get from a postseason game. You would never get nervous from a regular-season moment ever again when you play meaningful postseason games in postseason minutes, and he’s done that, and I think that’s just pretty cool for his career, for his confidence.”
Bronny finished 2-for-2 from the floor with five points (the three-pointer and the alley-oop). With stars Luka Doncic and Austin Reeves still out with injuries, Bronny has helped cover minutes throughout the playoffs.
Earlier in the series — on April 19 — LeBron and Bronny became the first father-son duo in NBA history to play together in a playoff game.
“There’s a lot of crazy things that’s been going on this year,” LeBron told reporters after the Game 1 victory. “I mean, I was on the floor with my son in a playoff game. That’s probably the craziest thing that’s ever happened to me in my career.”
He continued, “It was just so cool to be out there with [Bronny]. With his brother (Bryce) and sister (Zhuri) and mom (Savannah James) in the building. And his grandma.”
The Lakers hold a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series, with a chance to move to the next round of the NBA playoffs with a win over the Rockets on Sunday, April 26.
Bronny’s role throughout the postseason continues to develop as the budding star sees more opportunity for playing time in the playoffs.
