LeBron and Bronny James become NBA's first father-son teammates ...

NBA legend LeBron James has made yet more history by becoming the first player to play in a game alongside his son.

The Los Angeles Lakers selected Bronny James with the 55th pick in this year's draft, pairing him with his father, heading into his record-breaking 22nd season.

LeBron and Bronny James sat next to each other at the end of the bench for the first half of the Lakers' NBA season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

But the crowd at Crypto.com Arena — including Bronny's mother Savannah, brother Bryce and sister Zhuri Nova — erupted when Lakers coach JJ Redick sent both players to the scorers' table and they checked into the game with 4 minutes to go in the second quarter.

LeBron was heard mic'd up talking to his son before he went onto the court: "You ready? See the intensity, right?"

"Just play carefree, though. Don't worry about mistakes, just go out and play hard."

The fans went up again when James Sr ran a dribble hand-off with his son soon after, and again when the pair connected and Bronny uncorked a jump shot that just rimmed out.

Every connection between LeBron and Bronny was raucously cheered by the crowd. (AP: Eric Thayer)

Redick called Bronny back to the bench soon after, perhaps happy to put behind him the sub-plot of when the pair would share the court.

The James' played together in three of the Lakers' preseason games, with Bronny also turning out in six Summer League games.

James Jr struggled with his shot, averaging just over 5.5 points per game on 31 per cent shooting, including 11 per cent from three-point range.

Major League Baseball's equivalent, Ken Griffey Jr and Sr, played together with the Seattle Mariners in 1990 and were in attendance at the NBA season opener.

LeBron and Griffey Jr are friends and all four fathers and sons spoke on court before the game.