Starting 5: A first-ever father-son NBA moment

LeBron James and Bronny James were all smiles during warmups just moments before becoming the first father-son duo to play together in an NBA preseason game.

THE LINEUP 🏀
What’s inside today’s edition?
Historic Moment: LeBron and Bronny James became the first father-son duo to share the court in a preseason game
Abu Dhabi Sweep: Defending champion Celtics leave the UAE 2-0 in the preseason
Roundup: New-look Knicks, Raptors and Pistons open preseason with wins
WNBA Semifinals: Liberty reach 2nd straight Finals; Sun force decisive Game 5
More Debuts On Tap: 16 teams (and plenty of new faces) open the preseason this week
BUT FIRST … ⏰
Start your week with more preseason hoops…

A pair of former No. 1 picks out of Duke – New Orleans’ Zion Williamson (2019) and Orlando’s Paolo Banchero (2022) – will face off to open their preseasons in a Monday matinee (1:30 ET, NBA League Pass) to open a five-game slate.
1. LEBRON & BRONNY JAMES OFFER A PREVIEW OF NBA HISTORY

Entering his 22nd NBA season, there aren’t many NBA firsts for LeBron James to accomplish.
However, on Sunday night in Palm Desert, when the Lakers took the court to open the 2nd quarter against the Suns, LeBron and his eldest son, Bronny, stood side-by-side – marking the first time in NBA history that a father and son have played in an NBA preseason game together.
It served as a preview for the official moment that could come during the regular season. That can happen as early as Oct. 22 when the Lakers host the Wolves in the nightcap of the 2024-25 season’s opening night.

The LeBron and Bronny moment came during a 1st half that saw the Lakers build a 69-57 lead behind a combined 36 points from LeBron (19 pts) and Anthony Davis (17 pts) before the All-Stars sat in the 2nd half.
The Lakers led by as many as 16 points in the 3rd quarter before the Suns rallied to set up a back-and-forth 4th quarter before Phoenix prevailed 118-114. | Stats
Josh Okogie (15 pts, 5 reb, 2 3s) led Phoenix off the bench, while starters Kevin Durant (6 pts, 3-10 FG), Devin Booker (12 pts, 4-12 FG) and Bradley Beal (11 pts, 2-7 FG) combined for 29 points on 31% shooting. The Suns’ bench outscored the Lakers’ bench 76-42.
2. CELTICS COMPLETE ABU DHABI SWEEP

Boston’s win over Denver in the 2024 preseason opener on Friday was its first in 693 days – dating all the way back to Nov. 2022.
On Sunday, Jaylen Brown (21 pts, 3 ast) and Jayson Tatum (17 pts, 4 ast) combined for 38 points to lead the Celtics to their second win over the Nuggets in just three days. | Stats
Check out the
from Brown through the slow-mo lens

Nikola Jokic paced the Nuggets with 20 points, seven boards and three assists in 18 minutes. Both Jokic and Jamal Murray did not play in the 2nd half as Denver let their young players get some extended run.
Veterans Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, Russell Westbrook, DeAndre Jordan and 2024 first-round pick DaRon Holmes II were inactive for Denver

Headed Home: After a successful trip, Tatum and the Celtics boarded a 14-hour flight back to Boston to see their families and resume camp … but not before tossing the fans a few souvenirs on the walk off the court
3. NEW-LOOK KNICKS, RAPTORS, PISTONS OPEN PRESEASON WITH Ws

Knicks 111, Hornets 109: In a game featuring the Knicks debuts of Karl-Anthony Towns (10 pts, 4 reb, first bucket), Mikal Bridges (4 pts, first bucket) and Landry Shamet (16 pts, 4 3s), it was Deuce McBride (22 pts, 4 3s) that led the Knicks past the Hornets.
Raptors 125, Wizards 98: RJ Barrett (17 pts, 7-10 FG) and Chris Boucher (13 pts, 6 reb) combined for 30 points to lead the Raptors to a win in Montreal as part of the NBA Canada Series
Former Raptor and soon-to-be Hall of Famer Vince Carter
from the Montreal crowd

Pistons 120, Bucks 87: Detroit led 60-58 at the half, then outscored the Bucks 60-29 in the 2nd half behind Jaden Ivey (22 pts, 3 3s), Cade Cunningham (13 pts, 4 reb, 4 ast) and Ron Holland (10 pts, 6 reb, 5 ast in his debut).
4. WNBA: LIBERTY RETURN TO FINALS, SUN FORCE GAME 5

Liberty 76, Aces 62 (NY Wins 3-1): Two days after being held to a Playoff career-low four points in New York’s Game 3 loss in Las Vegas, Sabrina Ionescu had 22 points with five 3-pointers to lead the Liberty to a series-clinching win over the Aces. | Recap
the Liberty will host Game 1 of 2024 WNBA Finals on Thursday (8 ET, ESPN) from Barclays Center in Brooklyn

Sun 92, Lynx 82 (Series Tied 2-2): The Liberty will have to wait two more days to find out who their Finals opponent will be as Connecticut used a dominant 2nd half to stave off elimination and force a winner-take-all Game 5 on Tuesday in Minneapolis (8 ET, ESPN2). | Recap
DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas added 18 points each (with AT adding a game-high 11 dimes), while DiJonai Carrington and Marina Mabrey added 15 and 10 points, respectively
5. WHAT’S IN STORE THIS WEEK? KEY DEBUTS TO WATCH

The opening weekend of the preseason gave us an historic father-son moment (with the LeBron and Bronny) and a game-winning buzzer-beater (courtesy of Golden State’s Lindsay Waters).
We also witnessed standout rookie performances (from Rob Dillingham and Dalton Knecht) as well as our first glimpses of new-look squads (see Russell Westbrook with Denver, KAT and Bridges with NY, Donte DiVincezno in Minnesota).
And that was with less than half the league in action. This week, the remaining 16 teams will also hit the hardwood, giving us plenty of games to circle on the calendar.

Monday
No. 3 draft pick Reed Sheppard debuts after a strong Summer League showing

Tuesday
After opening the preseason in Hawaii, the Clippers will play in Oceanside on Tuesday and Seattle on Friday before debuting the Intuit Dome on Monday, Oct. 14

Wednesday
Friday
Reminder: Lineups change quickly in the preseason. Stay up to date at the NBA App.