Los Angeles Lakers star guard Austin Reaves set up his sophomore teammate, Bronny James, for an emphatic alley-oop finish during Sunday’s 130-120 home victory over the Miami Heat.
While the highlight play marked the 2024 No. 55 pick’s first basket of the 2025-26 campaign, another element left Reaves pondering its historical significance.
Austin Reaves Believes He Made ‘NBA History’ With Lob to Bronny James
Following a late first-quarter steal by forward Jake LaRavia, LA pushed the ball up the court to Reaves on the fast break. Upon receiving a pass just inside midcourt, he took one dribble before lobbing the ball up to Bronny, who converted a ferocious two-handed slam, to the approval of his father, Lakers superstar forward LeBron James.
AUSTIN REAVES LOB TO BRONNY JAMES
🔥🔥🔥
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) November 3, 2025
Despite remaining sidelined due to sciatica, LeBron jumped to his feet to cheer on his son, who had previously gone scoreless on three shot attempts across his first three appearances this season.
The sequence went viral on social media, with many noting the similarities to an alley-oop connection between Reaves and LeBron from the 2024-25 campaign.
Austin Reaves really threw IDENTICAL lobs to both LeBron and Bronny James 🤯
Like FATHER, like SON.
(via @pickuphoop)pic.twitter.com/JhiU7LXrTW
— Witness King James (@WITNESSKJ) November 3, 2025
During his postgame interview, Reaves reflected on the unique feat of assisting both a father and son for flashy slams, wondering aloud whether it had been done before.
“I’ve gotta be the first person in NBA history to throw a father a lob and a son a lob,” Reaves said with a smile. “I don’t know, it’s gotta be right. … While they’re still on the same team [too]. … It was cool. I told Bron that — as soon as I checked out after that — it was a pretty special moment.”
“I’ve got to be the first person in NBA history to throw a father a lob and a son a lob. … It was a pretty special moment.” Austin Reaves on connecting with Bronny James for an alley-oop dunk tonight vs. MIA. pic.twitter.com/rRtNsGX17r
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) November 3, 2025
LeBron and Bronny famously made history last season, becoming the first father-son duo to suit up together as teammates. While anticipation was off the charts for Bronny to follow in LeBron’s footsteps, his early career arc has been plagued by inconsistency, especially from beyond the arc.
Bronny’s first-quarter dunk against Miami ultimately marked his only made field goal of the contest. The 6-foot-2 defensive-oriented guard finished with two points, two assists, and three steals, shooting 1-for-4 (25%) across 18 minutes off the bench. He missed both of his outside looks and had his third-quarter fast-break layup attempt blocked by Heat wing Andrew Wiggins.
Still, Bronny made the case for increased playing time with his on-ball defensive chops.
Bronny James on-ball defense has been amazing in this game outside of a dribble to drive from Jaime Jaquez.
He’s finally starting to understand it, now we need is more C&S pic.twitter.com/yxTxo8nn7M
— BKS Sports (@BKSecretsports) November 3, 2025
Having gotten the monkey off his back with his first points of Year 2, the 21-year-old may receive a much-needed confidence boost as he seeks to earn steady playing time.