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 interesting storyline. Next season, he can play on the same roster as his father, 39-year-old superstar LeBron James.
Although there are many great parent-child duos in sports history—Bobby and Barry Bonds in baseball; Spare Schmeichel; Pamela, JaVale and Imani McGee rarely play together in basketball, let alone on the same team.
But on at least a few other occasions, the stars aligned to make it possible.
The Eternal Gordie Howe & Sons
Gordie Howe retired from hockey at the age of 43 after a stellar career. But three seasons later, when his sons Mark and Marty joined the Houston Eros of the World Hockey Association, he couldn’t resist.
“They knew my biggest desire has always been to play professional hockey with my sons,” he said, “and when they asked me, ‘Are you interested?’ I said, ‘Hell, yeah.
As it turns out, his return wasn’t just a brief cameo. Amazingly, he played seven seasons with his sons before moving on to the New England Whalers, who joined the NHL as the Hartford Whalers in 1979-80. Howe Sr., 51, is skating on major league ice.
In his final season, he played 80 games with the Whalers, scoring 15 goals, before hanging up his skates. “I think I have half a year left,” he declared in the announcement.
Mark Howe played until 1995 and, like his father, was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
The Griffeys, Junior and Senior
In August 1990, at the age of 40, Ken Griffey announced his retirement. Cincinnati Reds.
But it was no coincidence that just days later he was drafted by the Seattle Mariners, who hired his son, 21-year-old budding superstar Ken Griffey Jr.
In his first at-bat with his new team, Griffey Sr. hit a homer, helping him win a bet with his son on who would get the first hit. Next, Griffey Jr. hit a single and both players scored. “I wanted to cry,” Griffey Jr. said after the game.
In September of that season, they hit back-to-back home runs against the California Angels.
The Griffeys played together for two seasons before the elder Griffey retired. Griffey Jr. went on to enter the Hall of Fame.
Another pair of youth and adult groups
At the end of the 2001 season, the Montreal Expos traded 42-year-old great hitter and base stealer Tim Raines to the Baltimore Orioles, who had just drafted Raines’ son, 22-year-old Tim Raines Jr. · Raines.
Their time together was short-lived, with just four games left until the end of the season. Raines Jr. returned to the minors the next season. Raines Sr. played one more season with the Florida Marlins.
In this case, the father’s career is obviously better than the son’s career. Raines Sr. is inducted into the Hall of Fame. Raines Jr. has only played 75 games in his career.
panhandle family
Sports historians have to dig deep into history to discover a professional footballer who played in the same stadium as his father – all the way back to 1921, to be precise.
The Ohio League’s Columbus Panhandles made heavy use of the Nessel family: brothers Ted, John, Phil, Frank and Fred all played on the team.
In 1920, the Panhandles became part of the new American Professional Football Association, and in 1921 Ted Nesser became player-coach. Joining the team are not only his brothers but also his 19-year-old son, Charles Nesser.
Columbus Panhandle? From the NFL? Are you thinking, “So what?”
If so, consider that the following year, the APFA changed its name to the National Football League.
The Columbus Panhandle (then known as the Columbus Tigers) played its final season in 1926, but Ted and Charles Nether remain the only NFL father-son duo to play on the same team at the same time.
Iceland Torch Relay
In 1996, Iceland played a friendly match against Estonia in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, and forward Arnol Gudjohnsen was substituted. He was replaced by a 17-year-old talent who made his debut for the national team: Eidur, Arnol’s son.
Both have been mainstays of the Iceland team for many years and have had outstanding club careers. Arnold played football in Belgium, France and elsewhere, while Edouard is best known for his time with Chelsea Football Club in England.
Edur has three sons who play football, two of whom, Sven Aron and Andri, have played for Iceland, albeit not at the same time as their father.
Iceland has a population of only 380,000.
Not quite LeBron
LeBron James is undoubtedly one of the best basketball players of all time, and some would argue the best.
The drafting of LeBron James Jr. (nicknamed Bronny) was no surprise. “My last year will be playing with my son,” LeBron said in 2022.
But how good will the brownies be? Being drafted 55th overall doesn’t guarantee success, or even a job; some players drafted in this range don’t even make NBA teams.
Bronny played one season at USC, but made just six starts and averaged 4.8 points per game. Pre-draft scouting reports projected him to be a supplemental NBA player at best.
But that may not matter as much when he steps onto the court and joins LeBron in becoming the first father-son duo to play in the NBA
who is the next?
Well, golf is not a team sport. But did you know there’s a 15-year-old guy who just qualified for the U.S. Junior Amateur? His name is Charlie. Charlie Woods.
Yes, that Woods.
