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LeBron James has been synonymous with NBA Christmas Day video games for so long as he’s been within the league. His 19 appearances on the vacation stage are probably the most of any participant in league historical past, and he has led his groups to an 11-8 report in these video games, together with his 11 Christmas wins representing one other all-time report. And, sure, James has scored extra factors on Christmas Day (507) than some other participant within the historical past of the NBA.
This 12 months, James will play on Christmas for the twentieth time in his profession when the Los Angeles Lakers host the Houston Rockets at 8 p.m. (ET). In current feedback to the press, James admitted that he’d choose to spend the vacation at house, however acknowledged the significance of the day on the NBA calendar and the respect it’s to symbolize the league on the event.
“I wish to be house on the sofa with my household all all through the day,” he stated. “However our quantity is known as, so we’ve to exit and carry out … However I imply, it’s the sport, it’s the sport I really like. It’s the sport I watched after I was a child on Christmas Day, watching lots of the best play the sport on Christmas. It’s all the time been an honor to play it.”
Listed below are a few of the standout performances from James’ 19 earlier Christmas Day video games.
Cleveland Cavaliers at Orlando Magic, 2003
Zion Williamson’s 32 factors are the 2nd most scored on Christmas Day by a participant earlier than turning 21. LeBron James put up 34 on #NBAXmas in 2003. #NBAVault pic.twitter.com/frVWQEOTNB
— NBA Historical past (@NBAHistory) December 26, 2020
“I’m LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers and I need to want everybody a contented vacation, Merry Christmas, and hopefully Santa brings you all of your items that you simply requested for,” James stated in a promotional video earlier than making his Christmas Day debut as an 18-year-old rookie. James rose to the event with 34 factors for Cleveland, however Tracy McGrady finally stole the present with 41 factors within the 113-101 Orlando win.
Nonetheless, James’ efficiency marked the arrival of a brand new famous person on the NBA’s grandest regular-season stage.
Cleveland Cavaliers at Los Angeles Lakers, 2009
Christmas Day 2009 delivered a matchup between James and Kobe Bryant throughout a interval in league historical past when the query of LeBron versus Kobe because the NBA’s greatest participant was one of many hottest debates in sports activities. Inside a packed Staples Heart, Cleveland jumped out to a commanding first-half lead that surprised the Los Angeles crowd and shifted the sport’s tone for good.
James managed the motion all through the sport, with 26 factors and 9 assists, whereas Bryant notched 35 factors, 10 boards and eight assists in a classic efficiency — however the Cavaliers walked away with a 102–87 win.
James led the Cavaliers to a Christmas Day win in Los Angeles in 2009.
Miami Warmth at Los Angeles Lakers, 2010
James returned to the Metropolis of Angels for a Christmas Day date with the Lakers in 2010, solely this time he was sporting a brand new uniform and main a special workforce. After becoming a member of the Miami Warmth as a free agent within the earlier offseason, James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and the remainder of the “Heatles” arrived in L.A. seeking to make an announcement in opposition to the defending champion Lakers, who had gained back-to-back NBA titles in 2009 and 2010.
In his first vacation look with the Warmth, James recorded the primary Christmas Day triple-double of his profession, dictating the sport on each ends and utilizing his dimension and imaginative and prescient to manage the tempo whereas limiting the influence of Lakers stars Bryant and Pau Gasol. The outcome was a 96-80 Miami win, as LeBron’s all-around recreation stole the highlight in one other chapter of one of many defining rivalries of the period.
Cleveland Cavaliers at Golden State Warriors, 2015
Six months after the Warriors defeated James’ Cavaliers within the 2015 NBA Finals to say Golden State’s first championship since 1975, the groups staged a finals rematch at Oracle Area on Christmas Day. The Warriors entered the sport with a 28-1 report and on tempo to interrupt the league’s all-time single-season wins report (which they did, ending the 2015-16 season 73-9).
James and the Cavs efficiently dragged Stephen Curry and the Warriors right into a slow-paced, low-scoring contest, however Golden State nonetheless prevailed, 89-83. James completed with 25 factors and 9 rebounds, however Draymond Inexperienced delivered a monster all-around efficiency with 22 factors, 15 rebounds and 7 assists. The story, nevertheless, was removed from over. James and the Cavs would get their revenge when it mattered most, getting back from a 3-1 deficit within the 2016 finals to ship Cleveland its first title in franchise historical past and spoil the Warriors’ record-breaking season.
James and the Cavaliers misplaced to Golden State on Christmas in 2015, however Cleveland acquired its revenge later that season, within the 2016 finals.
Dallas Mavericks at Los Angeles Lakers, 2020
The NBA framed Christmas Day 2020 as a battle between eras, with James taking over basketball wunderkind Luka Dončić. As soon as the sport tipped off, the message from the defending-champion Lakers was clear: this was nonetheless LeBron’s league. He managed the tempo from begin to end, dissecting Dallas’ protection and steering the Lakers to a 138-115 win.
Anthony Davis led all scorers with 28 factors, Dončić delivered 27 factors and 7 assists in his first Christmas look, and James ended up with 22 factors and 10 assists. James additionally celebrating one other profession milestone on this recreation, as he moved previous Oscar Robertson into second place on the NBA’s all-time Christmas Day scoring listing. On the time, he trailed solely Kobe Bryant, however James would go on to surpass him and declare the highest spot on Christmas Day 2022.
Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Lakers, 2024
Enjoying in his record-setting nineteenth Christmas recreation, James led the Lakers to a 115-113 win over the Warriors, with the end result determined by an Austin Reaves driving layup with one second remaining.
AUSTIN REAVES WINS IT FOR THE LAKERS ON #NBAXmas! pic.twitter.com/7SFj98Lmuh
— NBA (@NBA) December 26, 2024
James placed on his personal virtuoso efficiency that day, scoring 31 factors and handing out 10 assists in opposition to Golden State. With the victory — the eleventh Christmas Day win in his profession — James turned the winningest participant within the NBA Yuletide historical past. It’s exhausting to disclaim his standing as an all-time nice vacation performer, even when, by his personal admission, he’d somewhat be celebrating at house.
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Denny Alfonso is a trending information author for The Athletic. An Emmy Award–profitable New Yorker, Denny beforehand coated the NBA, MLB, and MLS for ESPN, the place she produced and reported the Soccer in America sequence, incomes a Telly Award. She additionally coated the Rio Olympics for ESPN. Earlier than becoming a member of ESPN, Denny labored as an investigative reporter for NBC Telemundo in Los Angeles and has been a contributor to each Yahoo and The Related Press in New York.
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