Bronny James steps onto the court for Lakers in preseason game without LeBron James

PALM DESERT, Calif. (AP) — Bronny James made his debut in the NBA preseason game on Friday night, as the Lakers took on Minnesota in the first of their two weekend games in the Coachella Valley. However, his father LeBron James was not on the court with him as he watched from the sidelines.

Lakers coach JJ Redick elected to hold out LeBron James against the Timberwolves after three hard days of training camp, but the 39-year-old top scorer in NBA history is likely to play against Phoenix on Sunday — which just happens to be Bronny’s 20th birthday.

Before they become the first father and son to play in the same NBA game, Bronny James knows he has plenty of work to do. He got his first chance to play in Lakers gold when he took the floor to begin the second quarter at Acrisure Arena outside Palm Springs.

Playing alongside starting Lakers point guard D’Angelo Russell, Bronny got caught on a pick on his first defensive possession, allowing Rob Dillingham to hit an open 3-pointer. Bronny’s pass was then intercepted by Nickeil Alexander-Walker on the other end, but Bronny hustled back and blocked his layup attempt.

Bronny missed all three of his shots during his six minutes of action, including a 3-pointer. He picked up an assist when he found Rui Hachimura for a 3-pointer from the corner on a fast break.

LeBron appeared to be keeping a mindful distance from Bronny during the first half, allowing his oldest son to focus on the game. But LeBron spoke at length to Bronny during a timeout halfway through the second quarter, explaining something with hand gestures while Bronny nodded.

Bronny James was the Lakers’ second-round draft pick, and he played in NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. The 6-foot-2 guard is expected to play for the Lakers in the preseason before spending a significant portion of the upcoming regular season with the G League’s South Bay Lakers.

“Of course there’s nerves,” Bronny said after the Lakers’ pregame shootaround. “But I’m just excited to go out there and learn from the people playing in front of me, and if I get a chance to showcase what I can do, I’m going to do that.”

As is typical for inactive players, LeBron largely stayed away from the Lakers’ huddles. He mostly stood on the perimeter during timeouts with Anthony Davis, who also sat out the preseason opener. Both superstars have been at training camp in El Segundo.

“We felt like, given everything they had this summer, and their level of participation over the past three days, it made the most sense for them to get an off day today,” Redick said. “We told them at shootaround to just stay off their feet.”

Redick said Thursday that both LeBron James and Davis will play in at least one game this weekend. Max Christie and Jaxson Hayes started in the superstars’ place against Minnesota alongside Russell, Hachimura and Austin Reaves.

Friday’s crowd didn’t seem disappointed as it poured into the 22-month-old arena that serves at the home of the American Hockey League’s Coachella Valley Firebirds. Hundreds of fans in gold Lakers jerseys representing everyone from James to George Mikan rushed into the building and down the stairs in the lower bowl for an up-close look at the pregame warmups.

“The beautiful thing about the Lakers is that we have fans all over the world,” Redick said. “The desert over here is an extension, I think in some ways, of our fan base in LA. It’s a great opportunity for our group to play in front of these fans tonight.”

James and Davis are sitting out the first of the Lakers’ six preseason games as they ease back into competition after a busy summer. They joined the Lakers before the game in street clothes.

LeBron and Davis were both on the U.S. team that won a gold medal at the Paris Olympics, and they walked to midcourt right before tipoff to greet Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards, their Olympic teammate.

The game against Minnesota is also the coaching debut of Redick, the 40-year-old former player who was general manager Rob Pelinka’s surprising choice to replace Darvin Ham after the Lakers exited in the first round of last season’s playoffs. Redick had never coached at any level — except his children’s youth teams — before getting the job.

“The anxiety that people may assume I’m having is around how my team is going to perform,” Redick said. “I think we’ve mentioned the word ‘preparation,’ and once you’ve invested a lot in preparation, you just have to accept that, and then it becomes, ‘I want to see how my team does against another team.’

“I’ve given myself some grace in terms of some nuanced stuff. I’m trying to get the challenge out of the way right away, maybe the second play of the game. I’m not going to be perfect. I think the preparation and attempt to get buy-in from my guys is the focus.”