LeBron James is embarking on his 20th season in the NBA and he's obviously faced many players during that time. Now he's beginning to face the sons of some of the players that he competed against early in his career.
During Monday's game between the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers, Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. approached James with a comment that for sure made the Lakers star feel old. He revealed to James that, as a rookie, LBJ played against his father in an NBA game.
"You feel old, don't you?" 🤣
— NBA TV (@NBATV) January 17, 2023
Jabari Smith Jr. had a fun fact for LeBron 😂#CenterCourt pic.twitter.com/0HCJ5N8nAH
"You played against my dad in your first NBA game ever," Smith said to James during a timeout.
"Why did you do that to me?" James responded in a chuckling manner.
Smith's father, Jabari Smith Sr., faced off against James in the All-Star forward's first NBA game on Oct. 30, 2003 when he was a member of the Sacramento Kings. Smith ended up playing three seasons in the NBA with two of those coming with the Kings. On that particular night, Smith Sr. didn't appear on the stat sheet, while James scored 25 points.
Smith Sr. was in attendance for Monday's game and even got a catch to share a moment with James after the game.
Jabari Smith Sr greets @KingJames after watching his son, @JabariSmithJr play the Lakers.
— Vanessa Richardson (@SportsVanessa) January 17, 2023
I asked Jabari Sr what it was like to watch his son take on LeBron.
“Unbelievable. Best day ever.” pic.twitter.com/ma3Xj9zOpO
On Monday, James led the Lakers to a 140-132 win over the Rockets in which he scored a season-high 48 points while Smith scored 14 points for the Rockets.
