Now at the tail end of his 23rd season in the NBA, LeBron James has had no shortage of memorable moments.
But according to the 41-year-old James, the “craziest” thing to happen in his legendary career occurred on Saturday night.
With the Los Angeles Lakers hosting the Houston Rockets in Game 1 of the first round, Bronny James, LeBron’s 21-year-old son, made his playoff debut.
Bronny played just three minutes, but when he checked in, his dad was also on the floor.
The James duo became the first father-son pairing to play in the same NBA playoff game, and the gravity of the moment was not lost on LeBron.
“S—, I was on the floor with my son in a playoff game,” LeBron said to reporters after the game. “That’s probably the craziest thing that’s ever happened to me in my career. It was just so cool to be out there with him and his brother and sister and his mom in the building and his grandma…that’s just insane. My mom got to watch her son and her grandson during the playoffs. That’s crazy.”
LeBron’s own playoff debut came way back in 2006, when he recorded a 32-point triple-double against the Washington Wizards.
And while Bronny’s stat line wasn’t nearly as impressive, LeBron said watching his son made him reminisce about his own debut 20 long years ago.
“I remember I was nervous as hell,” LeBron said. “As soon as I got out on the floor, I was super nervous.”
Now in his 293rd playoff game, LeBron showed no signs of nerves on Saturday.
The NBA’s all-time leading scorer led the Lakers to a Game 1 victory over the Rockets with 19 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds.
It marked the 185th playoff victory for LeBron, but his first with his son.