LeBron James said it was “great” to see Bronny James make his Los Angeles Lakers preseason debut during Friday’s 124-107 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

James added, however, that his eldest son and his Lakers teammates have plenty of work left to do before their first regular season under head coach J.J. Redick tips off on Oct. 22 against the Timberwolves.

“It’s the first game, we’ve had three practices in our building, today makes four. I think for Bronny, for everybody, we want to continue to try to get better and better,” James told reporters during the Lakers’ Saturday practice (h/t Jovan Buha of The Athletic.) “It’s always great to get things going, to see what we need to work on, seeing ways we can continue to get better.

“It was great to see Bronny out there, great to see J.J. in the fold, and the rest of the guys as well. But we obviously want to play a lot better, and continue to implement the things that we’ve been doing over our four practices.”

Bronny James finished the loss with two points on 1-for-6 shooting, while adding a rebound and an assist, in the loss. The 19-year-old also led the Lakers with three blocks in his 16 minutes on the court, earning himself praise as a “really disruptive defender” from Redick.

James said that playing in the NBA would be “obviously an adjustment” for his son after his single season at USC shortened by emergency heart surgery he underwent the season prior.

“I think the more and more time he is out on the floor with pros, the speed and the cadence and all those things, you get better and better the more time you spend on the floor,” James said. “And you’ve got to think that he lost pretty much almost a third of the season last year, because of the condition, but he’s gotten better and better every day, he’s continued to put the work in.

“It’s up to us, as the veterans and the guys out here, to try to help him, help Dalton [Knecht], help all the young guys to get them better and better every single day at what we want to accomplish.”

Knecht, the No. 4 pick of the 2024 draft, tied Austin Reaves for the team scoring lead with 16 points on 17-for-13 shooting in his preseason debut against Minnesota.

The elder James says he plans to join the Lakers’ rookies for his first game of the 2024-25 preseason on Sunday against the Phoenix Suns. The game could mark the first time a father and son have played together in the NBA preseason.