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When the Los Angeles Lakers selected 19-year-old Bronny James in the second round of the NBA draft on Thursday night, the team set up an intriguing storyline. Next season he could play in the same lineup as his father, 39-year-old superstar LeBron James.
While there have been many great parent-child pairings in sports history: Bobby and Barry Bonds in baseball; Peter and Kasper Schmeichel in football; Pamela, JaVale and Imani McGee in basketball: they rarely play at the same time, let alone on the same team.
But at least in a few other cases the stars have aligned themselves so favorably that it is possible.
The Timeless Gordie Howe and Sons
Gordie Howe retired from hockey at age 43 after an illustrious career. But when his sons Mark and Marty joined the Houston Aeros of the World Hockey Association three seasons later, he couldn’t resist.
“They knew it was always my biggest desire to play professional hockey with my sons,” he said, “and when they asked me, ‘Would you be interested?’ I said, ‘Hell, yeah.’”
His return turned out not to be a brief cameo. Amazingly, he played with his sons for seven seasons before moving on to the New England Whalers, who joined the NHL as the Hartford Whalers for the 1979-80 season. Howe Sr. skated on Major League ice at the age of 51.
He played 80 games with the Whalers in his final season, scoring 15 goals before finally hanging up his skates. “I think I can do another six months,” he declared at the announcement.
Mark Howe played until 1995 and, like his father, was elected to the Hall of Fame.
The Griffeys, Junior and Senior
In August 1990, Ken Griffey announced his retirement at the age of 40. He had had a stellar career as a talented slugger, most memorably with the Cincinnati Reds in the 1970s.
But just days later, he was picked up by the Seattle Mariners, who, not coincidentally, drafted his son, 21-year-old rising superstar Ken Griffey Jr.
Griffey Sr., batting second in his first at-bat for his new team, singled, helping him win a bet with his son on who would hit first. Griffey Jr., who was next to bat, also singled and both players scored. “I wanted to cry,” Griffey Jr. said. after the match.
In September of that season, they hit two home runs in a row against the California Angels.
The Griffeys played together for two seasons before Griffey Sr. retired. Griffey Jr. went on to a Hall of Fame career.
Another Junior-Senior Couple
Towards the end of the 2001 season, the Montreal Expos traded great hitter and base stealer Tim Raines, 42, to the Baltimore Orioles, who had just called up Raines’ son, 22-year-old Tim Jr.
Their time together was brief, only four games before the season ended. The following season, Raines Jr. was back in the minors. Raines Sr. played one more season for the Florida Marlins.
In this case, the father’s career clearly overshadowed the son’s. Raines Sr. made the Hall of Fame. Raines Jr. played in only 75 career games.
A Panhandle family
Sports historians had to dig deep into history to track down a professional footballer who played on the same playing field as his father – all the way back to 1921, to be exact.
The Columbus Panhandles of the Ohio League drew heavily from the Nesser family: brothers Ted, John, Phil, Frank and Fred all played on the team at some point.
In 1920, the Panhandles joined the new American Professional Football Association, and by 1921 Ted Nesser was the player-coach. He was joined on the team not only by several brothers, but also by his son, Charles Nesser, 19.
The Columbus Panhandles? Of the American Professional Football Association? Are you thinking, “So what?”
If so, consider that the APFA changed its name the following year: to the National Football League.
The Columbus Panhandles, then called the Columbus Tigers, played their last season in 1926, but Ted and Charles Nesser are the only father-son duo in the NFL to play on the same team at the same time.
Passing the Icelandic Torch
In 1996, Iceland were playing a friendly match against Estonia in the Estonian capital Tallinn when striker Arnor Gudjohnsen was dropped. His replacement was a talented 17-year-old making his debut for his country: Arnor’s son, Eidur.
Both men were regulars for the Icelandic team for many years and had good club careers. Arnor played in Belgium, France and elsewhere, while Eidur was best known for his time at Chelsea Football Club in England.
Eidur himself has three footballing sons, and two of them, Sveinn Aron and Andri, have played for Iceland, although not at the same time as their father.
Iceland has only 380,000 inhabitants.
Not quite LeBron
LeBron James is undisputedly one of the greatest basketball players of all time, and some would argue the best.
The draft selection of LeBron James Jr., who goes by the name Bronny, was no surprise. “My senior year I’m playing with my son,” LeBron said in 2022.
But how good will Bronny be? Being drafted No. 55 doesn’t guarantee success, or even a job; some players selected in that range don’t even make NBA teams.
Bronny played one season at USC, but started only six times and averaged 4.8 points per game. Predraft scouting reports predicted he would be a complementary NBA player at best.
But that probably won’t matter when he takes the court and joins LeBron as part of the first father-son duo to play in the NBA.
And who’s next?
Well, golf is not a team sport. But did you know that a certain 15-year-old just qualified for the American Junior Amateur? His name is Charlie. Charlie Bos.
Yes, that Forest.
