The Los Angeles Lakers have been looking for any possible way to build chemistry, which has taken shape as a fun pregame ritual led by veteran leader LeBron James. Tonight, however, with James sitting out the game against the San Antonio Spurs with arthritis, it was son Bronny James who took on the duties.

The ritual consists of the team forming a circle while James launches the ball into the air, and everyone making a synchronized crouch when James catches it. The move has gone viral on social media after clips of it were uploaded before Lakers games.

This isn’t the first time the younger James has taken over his father’s pre-game duties. During a January 7th matchup against the Spurs that the Lakers lost, 91-107, Bronny was seen performing the move with a few of his teammates before tipoff.

Unfortunately for the fans in Crypto.com Arena tonight, that was the most exciting moment of the night for the Lakers. The team was missing all of its starting trio: James due to arthritis, Luka Doncic due to a hamstring injury, and Austin Reaves due to calf injury management, something he recently returned from.

Apart from the trio, the team was also missing defensive stalwarts Marcus Smart and Deandre Ayton, leaving it heavily depleted and essentially giving away the win to the visiting Spurs. San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama came out of the gate hot, logging a scorching 25 points in just his first eight minutes, eventually getting up to 40 points and adding 12 rebounds.

For now, the team should rest its players to support its long-term health ahead of the All-Star break, when Doncic and James are set to play.

Victor Wembanyama Breaks Records Against Bronny James, Lakers, as Spurs Face Injury

Wembanyama’s outstanding performance tonight was just the latest highlight in a career filled with them, and this time, Bronny James’ Lakers were the target. His 25 first-quarter points are the most by any Spurs player in a single quarter in the play-by-play era (since tracking began in 1997-98), and he’s also the first player in this period to score 25 in under eight minutes.

To make things even more impressive, at one point during that stretch, he scored 17 straight points for the Spurs, completely decimating the Lakers. This was the highlight of the night for San Antonio, especially considering the less fortunate moment earlier in the game.

Star guard Stephon Castle, fresh off a career-high 40-point triple-double, while attempting to block a shot from Lakers forward Rui Hachimura, landed on his back and didn’t get back up, causing the game to be paused as staff checked up on him.

After some time, he was escorted off the floor and didn’t return afterwards. However, there is optimism, considering that insiders have reported that X-rays have been negative for anything serious.

For now, the Lakers will look to take tonight’s loss on the chin as they prepare to face off against the lowly Dallas Mavericks on Thursday before the All-Star break.