The NBA saves some of its biggest games of the year for Christmas Day. [LeBron James](https://www.pennlive.com/topic/lebron-james/), one of the biggest stars in the history of the sport, regularly is scheduled to play on Dec. 25, including this season.
While it is an honor to be featured in a Christmas Day game, it’s an honor James would be just fine not receiving.
The 40-year-old was recently asked his thoughts about playing on Dec. 25 ahead of the Lakers’ game against the Rockets on Thursday.
“I’d much rather be at home with my family,” [LeBron James said](https://x.com/BleacherReport/status/2002964692571164922?s=20). “But I mean, it’s a game. It’s the game I love. It’s a game I watched when I was a kid on Christmas Day, watching a lot of the greatest play the game on Christmas. It’s always been an honor to play.”
LeBron James is in his 23rd NBA season and is set to play on Christmas Day for the 19th time on Thursday.
The Lakers (19-9) are hosting the Rockets (17-10) at 8 p.m. in a Western Conference showdown.
“Obviously, I’m going to be completely honest, I would like to be home on the couch with my family all throughout the day,” James said. “But my number is called; our number is called. So we have to go out and perform and I look forward to that.”