When Bronny James taks the court for the Los Angeles Lakers this season, LeBron James will become the third father to play on the same team as his son at the top level of American professional sports.
The Lakers took Bronny with the 55th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft on Thursday in a move that had been speculated for months. Bronny declared for the draft after a tough freshman season at USC. He missed the start of the season after a heart issue and averaged less than five points per game in the 25 games he appeared in.
With LeBron opting into the last year of his deal with the Lakers and turning 40 in December, the chance for the Lakers to pair Bronny and the NBA’s biggest star was too enticing to pass up.
Once the Jameses play together, they’ll join Gordie Howe and his sons Mark and Marty and Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. as the only other father/son combinations in any of the big four leagues. Here’s a brief look at how the Howes and Griffeys fared together.
Gordie Howe and Mark and Marty Howe
Gordie Howe was in his 50s and playing with the Hartford Whalers with his sons in the WHA when the league ceased operations in 1979. The Whalers subsequently joined the NHL for the 1979-80 season, and the Howes became the first father and sons to play together in American pro sports history.
Gordie remarkably played 80 games in the season he turned 52 and had 15 goals and 26 assists. Mark, a defenseman, played in 74 games and was third on the team with 80 points thanks to 24 goals and 54 assists. Marty Howe, a year older than his brother, appeared in six games that season and had an assist.
The Whalers made the playoffs despite a 27-34-19 record that season and were eliminated in the first round by the Montreal Canadiens. Gordie Howe retired after that season to cap a career that started as an 18-year-old with the Detroit Red Wings in 1946 and included 21 All-Star appearances. Mark Howe played through the 1995 season and is also a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, while Marty Howe’s last season came in 1984-85.
Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr.
Ken Griffey Sr. was playing for the Atlanta Braves when Ken Griffey Jr. was chosen No. 1 overall by the Seattle Mariners in the 1987 MLB Draft. After he was cut by the Braves in the middle of the 1988 season, Griffey Sr. signed with the Cincinnati Reds, the team he started his career with in 1973.
A year later, Ken Griffey Jr. made his debut for the Mariners as a 19-year-old rookie in 1989. After 127 games his first season, Griffey Jr. made his first All-Star team at the age of 20 in 1990. Roughly six weeks after the All-Star Game, the Reds released Griffey Sr.
Five days after he was released, Griffey Sr. signed with the Mariners on Aug. 29 as they became the first father and son to play together in Major League Baseball. On September 14, the two hit back-to-back home runs against the Los Angeles Angels.
Griffey Sr. returned to the Mariners for the 1991 season at the age of 41but played in just 30 games in his final season in the big leagues. Griffey Jr. made the second of 11 consecutive All-Star Game appearances that season as he became one of baseball’s biggest stars in the 1990s.