The NBA released the full 2024-2025 schedule on Thursday, so fans now know exactly which games they can watch on Christmas Day this year. To everyone’s surprise, the Los Angeles Lakers are included. The Lakers will travel to San Francisco to face the Golden State Warriors in the primetime game at 8 p.m. ET. For at least one person, this totally sucks.
That one person is LeBron James. We know things aren’t going well for the NBA’s all-time leading scorer because he told us how bad things were going back in 2015 when the Cleveland Cavaliers were preparing for a road game against the Golden State Warriors. Via ESPN:
“Unfortunately, I won’t be with my family for Christmas. … They aren’t even here [in Ohio] right now. They’re in LA right now. So, no, we don’t have any traditions. If I get a home game on Christmas, then we have a tradition.”
Unfortunately for LeBron, He is a Christmas tradition.
This will be his 19th Christmas as an NBA basketball player. LeBron James’ teams, the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers, have played each other for 17 consecutive Christmases. This will be the 18th consecutive year that LeBron will be on television on Christmas as a professional basketball player.
Here’s a diagram to put it into perspective.
|
Year |
LeBron’s Team |
Opponent |
At home or on the go |
Unwrapped presents under the tree at home on Christmas morning? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2003 |
Cleveland Cavaliers |
Orlando Magic |
Away |
NO |
|
2007 |
Cleveland Cavaliers |
Miami Heat |
Home |
Yes |
|
2008 |
Cleveland Cavaliers |
Washington Wizards |
Home |
Yes |
|
2009 |
Cleveland Cavaliers |
LA Lakers |
Away |
NO |
|
2010 |
Miami Heat |
LA Lakers |
Away |
NO |
|
2011 |
Miami Heat |
Dallas Mavericks |
Away |
NO |
|
2012 |
Miami Heat |
OKC Thunder |
Home |
Yes |
|
2013 |
Miami Heat |
LA Lakers |
Away |
NO |
|
2014 |
Cleveland Cavaliers |
Miami Heat |
Away |
Probably |
|
2015 |
Cleveland Cavaliers |
Golden State Warriors |
Away |
NO |
|
2016 |
Cleveland Cavaliers |
Golden State Warriors |
Home |
Yes |
|
2017 |
Cleveland Cavaliers |
Golden State Warriors |
Away |
NO |
|
2018 |
LA Lakers |
Golden State Warriors |
Away |
NO |
|
2019 |
LA Lakers |
LA Clippers |
Home |
Yes |
|
2020 |
LA Lakers |
Dallas Mavericks |
Home |
Yes |
|
2021 |
LA Lakers |
The Brooklyn Nets |
Home |
Yes |
|
2022 |
LA Lakers |
Dallas Mavericks |
Away |
NO |
|
2023 |
LA Lakers |
The Boston Celtics |
Home |
Yes |
|
2024 |
LA Lakers |
Golden State Warriors |
Away |
NO |
This will be the 10th Christmas that LeBron wakes up in a hotel room. It’s his 11th Christmas away game, but in 2014 the Cavs visited Miami after he left the Heat and he has a home there. It’s also possible that he bought his first home in Los Angeles because the league kept sending him there for the holidays.
He has played for or against the Lakers six times on Christmas. This will be his 11th Christmas in California, although he played the first 15 years of his career in Cleveland and Miami.
The good news this year is that he may be able to spend the entire day with his eldest son since the Lakers drafted Bronny James in the second round this year. If Bronny is with the Lakers, it will likely be the first time he’s been able to spend the entire day with his dad since 2006, when he was two years old. If LeBron plays in the 2025-26 season and is scheduled for Christmas again, the Lakers would be smart to sign Bryce, Zhuri and Savannah to 10-day contracts. Considering his birthday is on December 30, that would be a nice gesture.
It’s been essentially two decades since basketball fans spent the holidays without LeBron James, and when he finally retires, there will be a crown-shaped hole not only in the NBA calendar, but in every sports fan’s holiday season.