When Bronny James takes to the court for the Los Angeles Lakers this season, LeBron James will become the fourth father to play on the same team as his son at the top level of American professional sports.
The Lakers selected Bronny with the 55th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft on Thursday, a move that had been rumored for months. Bronny declared for the draft after a tough freshman season at USC. He missed the start of the season with heart issues and averaged fewer than five points in 25 games.
With LeBron in the final year of his contract with the Lakers and turning 40 in December, the opportunity for the Lakers to pair Bronny with one of the NBA’s biggest stars was too enticing to pass up.
If the James brothers were to play together, they would join Gordie Howe and his sons Mark and Marty, Tim Raines and Tim Raines Jr., and Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. as the only father-son duos in the modern history of the Big Four leagues. Here’s a quick look back at how Howe and Griffey played together.
Gordie Howe, Mark Howe and Marty Howe
Gordie Howe was in his 50s and playing with his sons for the WHA’s Hartford Whalers when the league was eliminated in 1979. The Whalers later joined the NHL for the 1979-80 season, making the Howes the first father and son to play together in American professional sports history.
Gordy played in 80 games in his age-52 season, recording 15 goals and 26 assists. Defenseman Mark played in 74 games and had 24 goals and 56 assists for 80 points, good for third on the team. Marty Howe, a year older than his brother, played in six games that season and recorded one assist.
Despite a record of 27 wins, 34 losses and 19 ties that season, the Whalers made the playoffs, losing in the first round to the Montreal Canadiens. Gordie Howe joined the Detroit Red Wings in 1946 at age 18 and retired that season after a career that included 21 All-Star appearances. Mark Howe played until the 1995 season and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Meanwhile, Marty Howe’s final season was 1984-85.
Tim Raines Sr. and Tim Raines Jr.
Raines spent the first 12 years of his career with the Montreal Expos before returning to Canada for his penultimate season in 2001. At the time, Tim Jr. was playing in the Baltimore Orioles system, allowing the two to play against each other while Tim Sr. was on a rehab assignment in Triple-A.
Late in the season, the Expos traded Tim Sr. to the Orioles, and the two went from rivals to teammates. Tim Jr. had made his MLB debut just a few days earlier, so the two took the field together on October 4th.
Tim Sr. finished his Hall of Fame career after one more season with the Florida Marlins, while Tim Jr. spent his career in Triple-A and overseas leagues.
Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr.
Ken Griffey Sr. was playing for the Atlanta Braves when he was selected first overall by the Seattle Mariners in the 1987 MLB Draft. After being released by the Braves midway through the 1988 season, Griffey Sr. signed with the Cincinnati Reds, the team with which he began his playing career in 1973.
A year later, in 1989, Ken Griffey Jr. made his debut with the Mariners as a 19-year-old rookie. After playing in 127 games in his first season, Griffey Jr. was selected to his first All-Star team in 1990 at age 20. About six weeks after the All-Star Game, the Reds released Griffey Sr.
Griffey Sr. signed with the Mariners on August 29, five days after being released, becoming the first father and son to play together in major league baseball. On September 14, 1990, the two hit back-to-back home runs against the Los Angeles Angels.
Griffey Sr. returned to the Mariners for the 1991 season at age 41, but played in just 30 games in his final major league season. Griffey Jr. played in his 11th consecutive All-Star Game that season and became one of baseball’s biggest stars of the 1990s.
