Tom Cruise and his 14-year-old son Connor shared a laugh courtside on Thursday night. The pair attended game two of the Los Angeles Lakers vs. Denver Nuggers NBA Western Conference finals at the Staples Center.

The saw the Nuggets down the Lakers 106-103 to tie the best-of-seven series 1-1.

Here’s a photo for all those folks who say Tom Cruise never seems to spend any time with his adopted children. The actor spent some one-on-one time with his son 14-year-old son Connor yesterday.

It looks like they had a great time checking at the track before the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 in Florida. Tom has had a long-time love of racing cars, ever since he starred in Days of Thunder. And judging by the smile on Connor’s face, he’s a bit of a fan too!

Connor Cruise recently made his big screen debut in the Will Smith film Seven Pounds, but don’t think the 13-year-old called in any favors from his famous parents Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.

“They have to earn it,” Tom explained in a recent interview with The Insider. “They’ve grown up in it, but there’s a point where there is the difference of watching [the film industry] and, ‘Do you want to do it? Do you really want to do it?’”

Connor auditioned for the part while Tom and his friend Will Smith waited outside.

“We’re standing out in the hall, we were kind of nervous, looking at our watches, saying, ‘What’s going on in there?’”

Of course he did score the role, but Connor’s still not convinced he wants to become an actor full time.

“He still likes sports, he likes to read, so we’ll see ultimately what he wants to do,” Tom, 46, said. “It’s his decision …Whatever they want to do, we’re there [for them].”

That sounds like a pretty healthy attitude!

Image source: Newscom

Many actors tend to dissuade their kids from following in their famous footsteps. But not Tom Cruise. He’s be thrilled that 13-year-old Connor will make his film debut in Seven Pounds on Friday. And he hopes Suri could be the family’s next star!

The adorable tot was a regular fixture on the set of Tom’s latest film Valkyrie, and she “quickly…adapted to set,” learning to “be quiet” while her father was filming.

However she did have a little trouble adjusting to her father’s eye patch!

“Suri would come up and take it off. Suri would be in the make-up trailer and she’d pull my patch off. So the girls in the make-up trailer got a little teddy bear with a patch on it and they gave it to her to play with, so she got used to the patch on the teddy bear.”

However no matter where life takes Connor, Suri, and 15-year-old Isabella, Tom says he’ll always be right behind them.

“They have full exposure to the world and all different kinds of ideas and philosophies so that they can make choices for themselves,” says Tom, adding that he “supports them in whatever choices they want to make.”

Nicole Kidman’s spent plenty of time gushing about newborn baby Sunday Rose, but don’t think she’s forgotten her other children. She says her adopted kids Isabella and Connor Cruise have given her a sneak peek at what’s to come.

“It’s strange, but in a great way, to have teenagers,” she told the Calgary Herald. “For a period of time it’s secretive and then it’s not.”

Nicole also notes that her children help her stay cool!

“They keep me informed about things I would not know about otherwise, [like] music and things in culture and, well, Bella and Keith really like the same music, which is interesting to me.”

Image details: Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Conner and Suri enjoying 4th of July in Telluride served by picapp.com

His famous dad played an ace aviator, and now Connor Cruise will become one for real! The adopted son of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman is currently taking flying lessons at a Californian airfield.

He was spotted there on Saturday flying a Cessna 172 Skyhawk with an instructor. However the 13-year-old will have to wait a little while to truly early his wings. He’s old enough to test his skills now, but he cannot obtain his flight license until he’s 16.