Lakers Notes: LeBron, Bronny, Redick, Davis

Lakers All-NBA forward LeBron James and his son, rookie guard Bronny James, made league history on Tuesday. When the duo suited up together in L.A.’s 110-103 victory over the visiting Timberwolves, they become the first father-son NBA tandem to do so, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

“That moment, us being at the scorer’s table together and checking in together, something I will never forget,” LeBron said during a postgame presser. “No matter how old I get, no matter how my memory may fade as I get older or whatever, I will never forget that moment.”

“I tried not to focus on everything that was going on around me and tried to focus on going in as a rookie and not trying to mess up,” Bronny said. “But yeah, I totally did feel the energy, and I appreciate the Laker Nation for showing the support for me and my dad.”

There’s more out of Los Angeles:

  • The Lakers appear to have wholly bought into first-year head coach JJ Redick‘s methods, writes Jovan Buha of The Athletic. “The game plan, the schemes that he had on both ends of the floor, he trusts us,” All-Star Los Angeles center Anthony Davis said. “We trust him, as far as what he teaches us, what he wants us to do on the floor on both ends and it’s our job to go execute it. I think we were very prepared tonight.”
  • After a 15-year pro playing career and a successful broadcasting run, Redicks restlessness as a basketball brain eventually compelled him to try out coaching for size, as he told Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. “At some point, you just kinda have to listen to your soul and not be afraid of the consequences of whatever happens afterwards,” Redick told Woike of his decision to pursue the Lakers’ coaching gig. “Whatever I envisioned in my previous life, that’s gone. This is who I am now. I’m a coach. And so I don’t feel like tonight is at all about me. It’s about our team.”
  • After being hired by the Lakers this summer, Redick pledged that he would run his offense through Davis. As Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times writes, many of the nine-time All-Star’s teammates looked to feed him early and often in Tuesday’s opener. “He is the main focal point for us offensively and defensively,” LeBron said of Davis. “We got to make sure we continue to give him the ball. I think the coaching staff and JJ , they do a great job of always putting him in positions where he can be the recipient of the offense.” The 6’10” big man scored 36 points on 11-of-23 shooting from the floor and 13-of-15 shooting from the foul line in his season debut, while also pulling down 16 boards.
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