Lakers: Watch LeBron James Find Out He’s Played Two Generations Of Jabari Smiths

Wait'll he finds out who else's son is on the Rockets.

In the midst of scoring 48 points to beat the league's worst team, the Houston Rockets, by a surprisingly close margin, 140-132, Los Angeles Lakers All-Star power forward LeBron James had a bit of a rude awakening regarding his NBA longevity.

At one point, a mic'd up Jabari Smith Jr., the rookie Rockets forward selected with the third pick last summer out of Auburn, revealed that he was not the first Jabari Smith against whom James played.

Jabari Smith Jr.: "You played against my dad your first NBA game ever."

LeBron James: "Really?"

JS: "Sacramento."

LJ: "Why you do that to me?" 🤣🤣pic.twitter.com/lLTAENtFMc

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 17, 2023

"You played against my dad your first NBA game ever," Smith said. 

A surprised James asked, "Really?" 

"Sacramento," Smith responded. 

"Why you do that to me?" James chuckled.

Technically, this is true, though Smith Sr. did not suit up in LBJ's October 29th, 2003 regular season NBA debut with the Cleveland Cavaliers (Jr. was just five months old at the time). The Kings won, 106-92, though James was already impressive in his league debut, scoring 25 points on 12-of-20 shooting, dishing out nine assists, grabbing six rebounds and swiping four steals.

James is much closer in age to Jabari Smith Sr., now 45, than he is to the Rockets' prized 19-year-old rookie power forward. Sr., a 6'11" center and power forward, was a much less-heralded prospect than his son. He played for just four seasons in the league, bouncing around from the Kings to the Sixers before an interlude with a Spanish club. Upon returning to the NBA, Smith rejoined the Kings, before finishing his NBA career at age 27 with the then-New Jersey Nets in the 2004-05 season.

For the record, Jabari Smith Sr. isn't even the only retired relative of Jr.'s against whom LBJ has suited up. Smith is also the cousin for 2001 No. 1 draft pick (and one-time Laker) Kwame Brown. Though he was widely considered a bust at the time (he was drafted, by then-Wizards executive Michael Jordan, ahead of future All-Stars Pau Gasol, Tony Parker, Joe Johnson, Zach Randolph, and Tyson Chandler), the center did enjoy a lucrative 12-year NBA run.

Jabari Smith Sr. isn't even the only son of a player LeBron James has suited up against on the Rockets! Smith's 22-year-old teammate, small forward Kenyon "KJ" Martin Jr., is the son of former All-Star power forward Kenyon Martin Sr., best remembered for his stints with the Nets and Denver Nuggets in a 15-year career that ran from 2000-2015.

"It made me feel extremely old when Jr. told me that," James told reporters after the game. "I just feel extremely blessed to be able to play this game and be to touch multiple generations... Kenyon Martin Jr. was out on the court tonight as well."