Oct 24, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (left) and son Bronny James watch from the bench in the second half against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Oct 24, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (left) and son Bronny James watch from the bench in the second half against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Key Points
His highlight breakaway dunk earned a viral reaction from LeBron: “The AIR different UP! there!”
Bronny James has had a unique basketball career — so far. As the eldest son, of who many consider the greatest active basketball player on the planet, LeBron James, (Bronny) James has had incredible expectations placed upon his shoulders.
While the younger James has spent a considerable amount of time with the NBA-level Los Angeles Lakers this season, he is often sent down, and called on, to suit up for the Lakers G-League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers. Following the Lakers 128-121 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, James found himself in his G League uniform once again.
James put forth an outstanding performance, dropping 20 points, seven assists, five rebounds, and three steals, helping lead his team to a 125-121 overtime victory over the Memphis Hustle on Saturday night. It appears the James family has taken down two different Memphis teams in the span of as many days.
While it seems as though virtually all of James’ 20 points were necessary to lead his team to a win, none garnered more attention than the two points that came from James’ monster breakaway slam dunk, with 2:00 remaining in the second quarter.
With the Lakers trailing 60-58, James created a breakaway opportunity. After running the length of the floor, he leapt, soaring through the air, showing of his serious vertical before throwing down a vicious slam over a trailing opponent. His dunk quickly grabbed his father’s attention, bringing out about an epic reaction on social media from “King James”.
“The AIR different UP! there!” James posted on his official X account (@KingJames).
The elder James retweeted a post on X, originally published by the South Bay Lakers official X account (@SouthBayLakers).
“Showtime. #sblakers,” the tweet read with the caption, “Bronny Slam” draped over the video.
The video, posted at 9:19 p.m. EDT, on Saturday night, had eclipsed 500,000 views on X alone in just under five hours.
While James, the father, continues to focus on his own historic NBA career, he has never missed a moment to boast and brag over his son’s accomplishments. (Bronny) James, at just 21 years of age, has appeared in 18 total games with the Lakers at the NBA level.
He’s only averaging 1.6 points per game, however, he has played at least double-digit minutes in four games this season. He has shown incremental improvements in his game, and has seemingly handled being moved between the NBA and the G League with class and ease.
For the time being, (Bronny) James is still on the G-League roster, however, there is a chance he’ll be recalled (as he often is) for the Lakers next NBA game. The NBA-Lakers will take on the Grizzlies yet again on Sunday at 9:30 p.m. EDT, at home, inside crypto.com Arena.
The NBA-world will hope (while they wait) that (Bronny) James will be parked on the Lakers bench next to his father for this one.
View post: LeBron James Makes NBA History During Lakers-Grizzlies
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Dave is a Trending News Sports Writer for Athlon Sports, covering breaking and trending news across major sports. Dave covers everything from the NFL's top stories to the MLB postseason. With over 10 years of experience in sports media, Dave’s versatility extends to television, radio, and journalism.