Austin Reaves is certainly no stranger to throwing lobs up to LeBron James and watching the basketball get punched through the net. On Sunday, the Los Angeles Lakers guard got his first connection of the season of that nature. However, it was with LeBron James Jr.
Late in the first quarter of the Lakers' impressive 130-120 victory over the Miami Heat, Reaves got the ball in transition and a familiar sight trailed him — a member of the James family. The Lakers guard tossed it up, and Bronny James hammered that ball down.
BRONNY CATCHES THE LOB FROM AR 🤯#LakeShow pic.twitter.com/7MVtwG69YJ
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) November 3, 2025
It was a play so exciting that LeBron James Sr. got out of his seat after the slam. It was also a moment that Reaves was convinced had never been done before. The Lakers star joked about it after the game was over, begging any reporter to reassure him of the NBA history he thought he made.
Reaves said, "I've gotta be the first person in NBA history to throw a father a lob and a son a lob. It's gotta be right? While they were still on the same team. Y'all wanna do all these d*** statistics. ... It was a pretty special moment."
Austin Reaves’ generational alley-oops put him in uncharted territory in NBA history
Reaves is, technically, probably, right with his claim. LeBron and Bronny are the first father and son to play together in the NBA. It would be difficult to refute what Reaves was saying about making history by connecting with both of them for an alley-oop during their time on the Lakers.
The jokes and the laughs take away from a bigger story here involving James. Bronny quietly had one of his better performances as an NBA pro in the win against the Heat.
Two points, two assists, three steals, and a 1-of-4 shooting night in 18 minutes may not blow people away immediately. However, watching the game would give anyone the impression that Bronny belonged on that court. That has not always been the consensus, and has even had some debate around it lately.
James had exactly the type of game the young guard needed. Bronny was always going to get an extended opportunity with bodies missing from the rotation. The most was made of it on Sunday.
Bronny's defensive energy looked strong throughout, and his positioning was largely consistent during the minutes on the court. The scoring is still a work in progress, with the alley-oop jam being his only bucket. However, that was masked by some decisive passes from the 21-year-old.
Ultimately, James had exactly the type of game that one would want to see out of him in the role he was asked to execute off the bench. In the midst of that, Reaves got to enjoy giving his young teammate a moment that will be a true highlight of his career thus far.