LeBron James Shatters Records with 18th Christmas Day Game!

On Thursday, the NBA unveiled its complete schedule for the 2024-2025 season, revealing the lineup of games set for Christmas Day. As expected, the Los Angeles Lakers will make an appearance, facing off against the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco during the 8 p.m. ET primetime slot. This scheduling decision, however, isn’t sitting well with everyone.

Specifically, LeBron James is less than thrilled. The frustration of the NBA’s highest scorer comes from his previous expressions of disappointment, dating back to 2015. At that time, as the Cleveland Cavaliers prepared for a Christmas game against the Warriors, LeBron shared his sentiments with ESPN:

“I won’t be with my family on Christmas, unfortunately. … They’re not even here [in Ohio] right now. They’re in L.A. right now, actually. So, no, we have no traditions. If I can get a home game on Christmas, then we’ll have a tradition.”

Unfortunately for LeBron, playing on Christmas has become his tradition.

This year marks his 19th Christmas Day game. LeBron’s teams, spanning his time with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, and Los Angeles Lakers, have been fixtures on December 25th for 17 straight years. This will be the 18th consecutive Christmas that LeBron appears on national television, showcasing his basketball skills.

Here’s a chart to put it in perspective.

This will be the 10th Christmas that LeBron wakes up in a hotel room. This year marks his 11th Christmas game away from home, though in 2014 he visited Miami—where he owns a home—after leaving the Heat. It’s speculated that one reason LeBron bought his first house in Los Angeles was due to the NBA frequently scheduling his games there during the holiday season.

He has either played with the Lakers or against them six times on Christmas. Despite spending the first 15 years of his career in Cleveland and Miami, this will be his 11th Christmas in California.

This year, however, carries a silver lining for LeBron. With the Lakers having drafted his oldest son, Bronny James, in the second round, LeBron might get to spend the entire day with him. This could be their first full day together on Christmas since Bronny was two years old in 2006. If LeBron continues to play and is scheduled for Christmas in the 2025-26 season, perhaps the Lakers might consider signing his other family members to short contracts as a celebratory gesture for his birthday on December 30th.

For nearly two decades, basketball enthusiasts have celebrated the holidays with LeBron James. When he eventually retires, his absence will leave a significant void in the NBA’s Christmas schedule and in the hearts of sports fans everywhere.