In the aftermath of a solid team win against the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James sent a message to the NFL about the Christmas sports calendar. After the final buzzer, James boldly proclaimed December 25th as the NBA’s day despite his love for football.
“Merry Christmas to my family back home, I’m coming home. And I love the NFL, but Christmas is our day,” said James via ESPN.
It’s no secret that NBA ratings have been down recently and conversations have been happening about how the product itself has taken a drastic turn. With the volume of three-pointers and the devaluation of the regular season, the NBA has struggled to maintain its audience and Christmas Day was a big night to get the league buzzing once again.
Fortunately, the Lakers and Golden State Warriors pulled through with an absolute classic showdown. With 31 and 38 points, respectively, LeBron James and Stephen Curry stole the show on NBA Christmas and they led the way in an exciting matchup that went down to the wire.
Of course, this is exactly what the NBA was hoping for with their Christmas Day lineup. As one of their biggest events of the year, the NBA always prepares the best games for December 25th and it’s the day when many fans start to keep up with the season.
While the NFL never intentionally set a Christmas game outside their regular schedule, they started the practice in 2020 to have at least one game every Christmas, even when the holiday falls on a day in which the NFL does not usually schedule games.
This year, the NFL had just two games on the docket: Ravens at Texans and Chiefs at Steelers. Both games ended in a blowout without much traction or attention on social media.
But for the NBA, LeBron and Curry stole the show and they had a lot of people talking. For James, after 21 completed seasons in the NBA, his legacy is undeniable, and watching him play elite basketball at almost 40 years old has become must see TV.
In the case of Steph, he inspired an entire generation of young shooters and his skillset changed the game in ways that can never be undone. As a pioneer for the modern NBA and one of LeBron’s biggest rivals, Steph’s reputation is legendary and people will always tune in to watch him play.
The NBA made a smart move by having both players face off on Christmas for the first time this season. It was a fascinating matchup and featured the league’s most recognizable and marketable names, creating a great viewing experience for the fans.
Unfortunately for the NFL, Christmas still belongs to basketball and LeBron James had to make it known. As a fellow football fan himself, it couldn’t have been easy for LeBron to admit it, but December 25th is still the NBA’s to lose and it might take something drastic for the NFL to overshadow them on their big day.
It remains to be seen if this was the last holiday with LeBron and Curry but someone else will have to take up the mantle soon. After making his first appearance tonight, Victor Wembanyama could be the next in line to be the face of NBA Christmas but it may never be the same without the two signature superstars.
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