LeBron James' hands-off warning to the NFL over Christmas Day, which has long been one of the biggest days in the NBA calendar, fell on deaf ears, and football once again dominated the holiday season
15:48 ET, 31 Dec 2025Updated 15:48 ET, 31 Dec 2025
LeBron James looks on
View 2 Images
LeBron James' fears of the NFL seizing control of Christmas from the NBA have come to pass(Image: Luke Hales/Getty Images)
LeBron James' fears of the NFL snatching control of Christmas Day have materialized, with football dominating the viewership race this year.
Christmas Day has traditionally been one of the NBA's biggestopportunities to shine, with NFL games only occasionally scheduled on Dec. 25. That changed in 2020, when the NFL began staging games on Christmas Day annually.
Article continues below
This year, three NFL games were played on Christmas: Netflix streamed the Minnesota Vikings and Dallas Cowboys' wins over the Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders, respectively, before Amazon Prime Video broadcast the Denver Broncos' victory against the Kansas City Chiefs. The streams did not go entirely as planned, with many viewers complaining about their experience.
Article continues below
READ MORE: LeBron James' birthday falls flat with Lakers crowd in awkward momentREAD MORE: LeBron James' competitive stamina draws praise on superstar's 41st birthday
But in terms of audience numbers, the decision to stomp on the NBA's turf and plant its flag on Christmas Day has paid off handsomely, dealing yet more bad news to NBA commissioner Adam Silver as the league fails to keep pace with the NFL.
This year's most-viewed NBA Christmas game was the San Antonio Spurs' victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder, which commanded an audience of 6.71 million viewers across ABC and ESPN
That number pales in comparison to the viewing figures for the NFL, particularly considering that the trio of football games were not available on linear television and required fans to have an over-the-top subscription to watch the action.
Netflix is yet to share its viewing data — its 2024 doubleheader had an average audience of 26 million in the United States — but Prime Video has revealed its figures for the Broncos' defeat of AFC West rivals, the Chiefs.
Bo Nix of the Denver Broncos celebrates the 20-13 win against the Kansas City Chiefs
View 2 Images
The Broncos' victory against the Chiefs commanded a huge streaming audience(Image: Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
The 8:15 p.m. ET game at Arrowhead Stadium drew an average audience of 21.06 million viewers, making it the most-watched 'Thursday Night Football' game since Amazon won the contract in 2023.
Twelve months ago, after leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a win against the Golden State Warriors, James fired a pointed message to the NFL to leave Christmas Day to the NBA.
"Merry Christmas to my family back home — I'm coming home. And I love the NFL. I love the NFL. But Christmas is our day," the four-time NBA champion told ESPN.
READ MORE: Patrick Mahomes has two big problems as Travis Kelce tipped for role nobody wants to seeREAD MORE: 10 NFL head coaching candidates ahead of Black Monday including 29-year-old coordinator
James' verdict was echoed this year by NBA icon Charles Barkley, who used his platform on ESPN's Christmas edition of 'NBA Tipoff' to take a bitter swipe at commissioner Roger Goodell and the "pigs" at the NFL.
Article continues below
"The NFL got greedy and started adding Christmas games," Barkley said. "We used to have this day to ourselves, but Roger Goodell and those pigs at the NFL always want to hog every day of the week now. Christmas is an NBA day."
With such strong results, there is no chance of the NFL stepping away from its Christmas strategy any time soon, meaning the onus is on the NBA to make its product more appealing to viewers.