LeBron James fires warning shot to NFL about Christmas Day games

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Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James had a message for the NFL following the team’s close win over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night.

James scored 31 points and dished out 10 assists as Austin Reaves’ go-ahead bucket gave the Lakers a 115-113 win. But with the NFL creeping up on what was the NBA’s most exciting day of the regular season, James sent a warning shot to the league.

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Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James during the game against the Golden State Warriors, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eakin Howard)

“I love the NFL. I love the NFL. But Christmas is our day,” he declared.

Last year, the NFL scheduled three games on Christmas Day as it fell on a Monday. This year, two games were scheduled on Christmas. In 2022, regular season games fell on Christmas Day.

NFL officials said last year the league wouldn’t schedule any games on Christmas if it fell outside of a normally scheduled day.

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Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry dribbles against Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eakin Howard)

“We’ve seen the opportunity with Thanksgiving and some of the audience that we’ve continued to build there,” NFL executive vice president of media distribution Hans Schroeder told The Wall Street Journal at the time. “We think there’s an opportunity when the calendar allows it on Christmas now, too, when we know our fans are going to be together.”

It was only four months later when the league did an about-face.

“The fans clearly spoke,” Schroeder told The Wall Street Journal in March. “There’s a big demand.”

The report noted that the NFL would usually give the day away to the NBA and other programming and even moved the old NFL championship off of Christmas if it fell on that day.

This year, the NFL’s games were seen on Netflix. When the ratings come out, everyone will get to see whether James is right.