LeBron James told by rookie 'you played against my dad' in amazing exchange

They say age is just a number.

Into his 18th year in the NBA, 38-year-old LeBron James is living, breathing proof of that.

But when an NBA rookie reminds you that you actually played against his father as well, even someone of LeBron's stature can't quite believe what he's hearing.

Before going on to score a season-high 48 points against the Houston Rockets, LeBron had a cheeky yet incredible exchange with an NBA rookie.

At one point, Jabari Smith Jr approached the Los Angeles Lakers megastar and informed him that he had actually played against the his dad, Smith Sr, way back in 2003.

"You played against my dad your first NBA game ever." 🤯

LeBron and Jabari Smith Jr. pregame tonight pic.twitter.com/4YXlGunZi5

— NBA (@NBA) January 17, 2023

"You played against my dad in your first NBA game ever," Smith Jr told the veteran.

To which LeBron replied: "Really?"

With Smith Jr responding, saying: "Sacramento. You feel old don't you?"

Seeing the funny side of things, LeBron stared down his opponent before laughing it off.

“Why you do that to me?” he joked.

Pops ain’t tell him the full story lmfaooo pic.twitter.com/vFSEbXtr78

— James Solomon (@osirss52) January 17, 2023

The exchange made for an amazing moment – and a rare one at that.

There's probably not too many occasions, not just in basketball but all of sport, where a father-son duo have taken on the same player throughout their careers.

So when the mic'd up footage made its way onto social media, it instantly blew up and garnered plenty of attention from fans.

That said, some people were quick to point out something quite amusing.

One Twitter user hilariously posted a screenshot of the score stats from LeBron's debut game against the Sacramento Kings, but it shows that Smith Jr didn't even play a single minute, despite being named as a reserve.

"Pops ain’t tell him the full story lmfaooo," his comment read.

As for LeBron, he didn't let the trash talk (if you can call it that), get to his head.

If anything, it seemingly helped him.

He finished the game with a season-high 48 points, consisting of five threes, eight rebounds and nine assists.

He also shot 16-of-26 from the field and 11-of-12 from the free throw line as the Lakers breezed past the Houston Rockets 140-132.

LeBron now has a 40-point game against every NBA franchise, except from the Clippers.