LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers will play on Christmas for the 20th time, going for the most wins by a player or coach in NBA history.
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LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers controls the ball against Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors.
The NBA recordsheld byLeBron James of theLos Angeles Lakers go on and on. But perhaps one of his most unknown, yet still incredible, feats of his career is his Christmas Day records.
Shams Charania of ESPN recently announced the NBA’s Christmas Day schedule for 2025, and on that list was the Lakers, facing off against thenowKevin Durant-ledHouston Rockets.
🚨🎄 NBA Christmas Day 2025 on ABC and ESPN, per sources:
– Cleveland Cavaliers at New York Knicks
– San Antonio Spurs at Oklahoma City Thunder
– Houston Rockets at LA Lakers
– Dallas Mavericks at Golden State Warriors
– Minnesota Timberwolves at Denver Nuggets
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 8, 2025
This will be James’s 20th Christmas game, holding 11 wins, already the most by a player in league history, as well as the record for most points at 507. But a win this winter would put James at themost Christmas Day wins of all-time, by a player or coach, as he would beat out Phil Jackson and Jack Ramsay, who each have 11 victories.
LeBron James On Christmas
A quiet Christmas is not something James has experienced in nearly his entire NBA career. He’s played on that day inall but three seasons, every year since 2007. He beat Kobe Bryant’s record of 17 total games in 2022, and has put up pretty strong averages over each of the Christmas Day games he’s played.
Through the 19 games so far, James is averaging 27.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.7 blocks, on 49.6/29/70 shooting splits. His career-high on Christmas is39 points scored in 2021 against theBrooklyn Nets, and he has one triple-double, recording 27 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assistsin 2010 as his then-Miami Heat beat his now-Lakers.
James has a combined record of 11-8, with his last Christmas Day outing coming as a win against theGolden State Warriors, with him dropping 31 points and 10 assists in what was aninstant-classic matchup. After that win, James commented on his historic success on Christmas.
“I love the NFL, but Christmas is our day,”he said postgame.
“It’s always a blast,”Stephen Curry added after last year’s Warriors loss. “Like, the competitive spirit, the history, his greatness. It allows me to just appreciate all that we’ve been through, all the battles back and forth and the fact that in 2024 we’re still doing it. And somehow the games are pretty electric and kind of a must-see TV situation. I love it.”
Other 2025 Christmas Matchups
While James, attempting to win his record 12 Christmas game will be the storyline of the day, the other four remaining matchups bring a ton of intrigue.
The day starts with theCleveland Cavaliers facing off against theNew York Knicks. The two teams expect to be thetop contenders in the Eastern Conference next season, and along with their opening week matchup,Donovan Mitchell vs.Jalen Brunson will be a great watch.
Next comes theSan Antonio Spurs against theOklahoma City Thunder. It’sVictor Wembanyama andDe’Aaron Fox going head to head againstShai Gilgeous-Alexander and the defending NBA champions.
TheDallas Mavericks vs. the Warriors is the next matchup, withCooper Flagg playing in his first Christmas Day game against a Golden State team that has played on the occasion in each of the last five years.
Finally, it is a rematch of what ended up being one of themost exciting games of the season last year, with theDenver Nuggets playing theMinnesota Timberwolves. The two teams seem to always find themselves in tightly contested contests, withNikola Jokic andAnthony Edwards astwo of the top players in the NBA.
Regardless, if James and the Lakers win, it will give him yetanother nearly unbreakable NBA record that will likely stand the test of time. James has played in nearly four times more Christmas Day games than the length ofthe average NBA career, and now withLuka Doncic, he could get one more.