LeBron James reacts to sharing court with Bronny in Lakers preseason game: ‘It was like the matrix’

History was made on Sunday as LeBron James and Bronny became the first father-son duo to share an NBA court in the team’s preseason game against the Suns.

Whatever expectations LeBron James might have had for how he’d react the moment he shared the court with his son, Bronny, more or less went out the window once it actually took place.

Officially, LeBron and Bronny have not shared the court in an NBA game. But that doesn’t make Sunday any less special.

In the second quarter of the Lakers preseason game against the Suns, Bronny and LeBron stood side-by-side on the court, becoming the first father-son duo to do so in NBA history.

“Not real,” LeBron said of his reaction to the moment. “Kind of a little bit used to it but it’s pretty cool. It’s pretty cool for both of us and especially for my family...It’s definitely a moment that I will never forget and it’s pretty cool.”

It didn’t come with much fanfare. Instead of one of them being sent to the scorer’s table with the other already on the court, allowing fans to rise in anticipation for the moment, the Lakers simply came out of the huddle to start the second quarter with both Bronny and LeBron in the game.

“The moment when we came out of the time out and he was picking up full court and I went up and, when my guy was taking the ball out, we kind of stood next to each other,” LeBron recalled. “I kind of looked at him and it was like the matrix or something, It just didn’t feel real to me. But it was great to have those moments out there.”

Head coach JJ Redick told LeBron and Bronny the pair would share the floor together that night. The two spent just over four minutes on the court together before Bronny made way for Gabe Vincent.

“I mean [as] a father, it means everything,” LeBron said. “As someone who didn’t have that growing up, to be able to have that influence on your kids and have an influence on your son, be able to have moments with your son and then, ultimately, be able to work with your son, that’s one of the greatest things a father could ever hope for or wish for.”

After the game, which the Lakers lost after LeBron James and Anthony Davis played just the first half, LeBron took to Twitter/X and shared his thoughts as well.

For Bronny, whatever he may have lacked in perspective, he made up for with some wit. While he admitted to being ‘psyched’ after being informed it would happen earlier in the day, when asked if he looked at LeBron as his dad on the court still, he was much more straightforward.

“I’m always thinking about ‘That’s my dad’ because that’s literally my dad,” Bronny said. “So I just go out there and when I’m playing, he’s just my teammate. That’s all I’m thinking at that point.”

Outside of being on the court together, the two had very few interactions, so for one big moment. After a defensive rebound, LeBron pushed the ball upcourt and found Bronny with a dribble hand-off for an open wing 3-pointer.

The basketball gods cared not for how cool of a moment it would have been as Bronny’s shot missed long and he would check out after one more possession.

Redick noted postgame that, with the sub patterns as they were in the first game — where Bronny also started the second quarter — it made sense to have the pair on the floor together in the second quarter on Sunday.

But, also a father, he provided some perspective of his own as well.

“I’m thrilled that I get to be a part of this,” Redick said. “I really am. I’ve said that a few times. It’s cool as a basketball fan. I think it speaks to LeBron’s, certainly, longevity, but also his competitive stamina, that he’s able to still be doing this in year 22. It speaks to the work that Bronny has put in to get to this point and really just the fatherly care and love — and certainly the motherly care from Savannah as well.

“I was really hoping that wing three on the little side DHO had gone in. That would have been a cool moment. But they’ll have a lot of moments together, I’m sure.”

Eventually, hopefully, one of those moments will come in a regular season game and in Crypto.com Arena so fans can react accordingly. But Sunday was still a memorable moment, no matter how official it may or may not be.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.