PALM DESERT, California — LeBron James and his son Bronny made NBA history on Sunday night, when they played together for the first time during the Los Angeles Lakers' preseason game against Phoenix.

LeBron and Bronny are the first father and son to play in any NBA game at the same time, let alone on the same team. The James family's remarkable moment coincidentally happened on Bronny's 20th birthday.

"It was cool for both of us, especially our family," LeBron James, 39, said afterwards of playing alongside Bronny, who celebrated his birthday on Sunday. "It's definitely a moment I'll never forget.

"As a father, it means everything. For someone who didn't have a dad growing up, to be able to have that influence on your son, to be able to have moments with your son, to work with your son — that's one of the greatest things a father could ever hope for."

Bronny admitted, though, that there were moments on court that felt surreal.

"We came out of a timeout and we kind of stood next to each other. I kind of looked at him. It was like being in The Matrix or something. It just didn't feel real. But it was great to have those moments."

Bronny entered the game as a substitute to begin the second quarter, joining his father on the court out of the timeout at Acrisure Arena in the Coachella Valley.

Things weren't immediately smooth for the James family: Bronny committed two turnovers and LeBron made another in their first two minutes together. LeBron then hit a 3-pointer, and, moments later, got the ball to Bronny and set a screen for his son's 3-point attempt, but Bronny missed.

Bronny was substituted off 4:09 into the second quarter, and LeBron came off 25 seconds later at the next dead ball.

LeBron had 19 points, five rebounds and four assists in 16 minutes during the first half, and he watched the Lakers' second half from the bench alongside Anthony Davis.

LeBron is beginning his record-tying 22nd season in the NBA, while LeBron James Jr — known to all as Bronny — was the Lakers' second-round draft pick this summer. After recovering from cardiac arrest over a year ago, Bronny played just one season at Southern California before entering the draft and joining the Lakers.

Lakers coach JJ Redick said before the game that LeBron and Bronny would only play together "in the flow of the game", promising it wouldn't be "gimmicky".

"I'm excited about it," Redick added. "I'm very honored that I get to be part of history."

Bronny played about nine minutes in the second half, but didn't take another shot in the Lakers' 118-114 loss to the Suns.

Bronny is expected to spend much of the upcoming season working on his game with the South Bay Lakers in the G League, but he will almost certainly get to play alongside his father in a real game early in the regular season.

Redick said that the Lakers have already discussed the logistics of the next historic moment, but he hasn't predicted when it will happen.

Although LeBron will turn 40 in late December, the top scorer in NBA history has shown no sign of slowing down with age. He has spoken for years about his longtime dream of playing in the NBA with one of his sons, and the Lakers made it a reality when they grabbed Bronny with the 55th pick in the draft.

LeBron sat out the Lakers' preseason opener against Minnesota on Friday, resting up after a full week of training camp following a busy summer. Bronny had two points on 1-for-6 shooting and three blocked shots while playing 16 minutes against the Timberwolves.

The Lakers have four more preseason games — all outside Los Angeles while their home arena undergoes renovations — before they begin the regular season at home against Minnesota on Oct 22.

Agencies via Xinhua