From Luke Kennard’s Game 1 performance, to Marcus Smart’s offensive surge in Game 2, to Deandre Ayton’s play in Game 6, there were so many great moments for the Lakers during their series win over the Rockets.
While LA’s victory lap has to come to an end as they prepare to face the Thunder in the second round, one lasting memory that deserves an immediate look back is the string of plays LeBron James and Bronny had in Game 3.
With the Lakers looking to take a commanding 3-0 lead and needing a road
win to do so, the family duo delivered.
James set a screen for Bronny and he nailed the three. On the next possession, LeBron lobbed it to Bronny, who converted a reverse layup to give LA a 12-point advantage.
LeBron piled on another five straight points, meaning the James family had scored 10 consecutive Lakers points. During Tuesday’s episode of the “Mind The Game” podcast, LeBron reflected on the iconic moment.
“We had that mini-run between the two of us, and that was just something that I will never, ever forget. Something that I’ve learned, obviously, at my elder stage and being 41 years old to kind of like appreciate the small wins in the moment. That was one of the moments where I kind of, I’ve always, like, always been locked in, and that moment right there, throwing him the lob, seeing him make the three, we kind of going back and forth, I kind of blanked out for a little bit and just really accepted and relished in that moment.
“That’s pretty cool for me as a dad. And then us as colleagues and then our whole family, like, I think I mentioned at one point, like my mom being at the game and her being able to watch her son and grandson in a postseason game at the same time. My wife was there. His sister was there. I think Bryce was back home from college. You can’t even write that script in Hollywood better than what’s going on. So just being super appreciative of it.”
After all the hoopla and screaming about nepotism and privilege, it’s great to see that Bronny has silenced those ridiculous criticisms. He stepped up for a shorthanded Lakers team and played meaningful, playoff minutes for LA during the early parts of that series.
Thanks in part to Bronny’s efforts, the Lakers survived without Austin Reaves, and now that he’s back, they’ve advanced to the next round.
LeBron should take this all in as much as he can because these moments are still amazingly cool and unique. Absolutes aren’t wise to say in any sport, but it’s unlikely we’ll ever see another father-son duo playing at that high a level in the NBA again.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
