As the son of teammate LeBron James, Lakers rookie Bronny James is no stranger to being mentored by all-time greats. As Bronny James embarks on his professional career, that mentorship comes from greats across sports.

On opening night, the Lakers father-son duo made history when they shared the court as teammates. Poetically, Ken Griffey and Ken Griffey Jr., MLB’s first father-son duo, were present.

Turns out the moment was more than just a photo opportunity for the father-son pairs. The younger Griffey recently revealed some of the wisdom he imparted to his second-generation professional partner.

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“I told Bronny to relax, enjoy it, be you. You’re not going to be him. Nobody is him,” Griffey explained during an appearance on “Nightcap” with Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson.

Ken Griffey Jr. continued, adding a relatively bold opinion about Bronny James’ upcoming assignment to the South Bay Lakers, Los Angeles’ NBA G League affiliate.

“You’ll learn a lot from being able to sit there and be on the bench watching (LeBron),” the Hall of Famer continued. “People say they need to be in the G-League and they need this and that. I’ll tell you what, I learned more sitting there watching my dad than anything else.”

Shortly after the Lakers drafted Bronny James, they outlined a plan to send him to the G League to make him a rotational player at the NBA level. Ken Griffey Jr. seems to believe that observation is the best teacher and feels that Bronny James’ best opportunity to learn is to watch his father from the sidelines.

FURTHER: Bronny James stats, game logs for rookie season with Lakers

Comparing basketball to baseball is comparing apples to oranges, but it’s worth noting that Ken Griffey Jr. was drafted in 1987 and spent two seasons in the minors before making his MLB debut.

Bronny James will likely bounce back and forth between Los Angeles and the South Bay during his rookie year, but that shouldn’t be seen as an impediment to his development. He has also spent most of his life closely watching his father excel in the NBA, including recent seasons with the Lakers and at the Paris Olympics.

As evidenced by Bronny James’ draft selection, his family and the Lakers have a plan in place. With that in mind, it’s fair to assume his G League assignments are a critical part of keeping the long-term plan going.