LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are set to face the Houston Rockets on Dec. 25, Christmas Day. The NBA has a custom of holding days during the holiday. For the 2025-26 season, they will feature a matchup between James and Kevin Durant.
The four-time champion has been featured in Christmas Day games for 19 straight seasons, the most in league history. For the upcoming game against Durant, he will set a new record with 20. On Sunday, however, he gave his honest thoughts on playing during the holidays.
According to the Lakers star, he’d rather spend time with his family.
“I’d much rather be at home with my family,” LeBron James said. “But I mean, it’s the game, it’s the game that 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 it.
LeBron James on playing his NBA-record 20th Christmas Day game this week:
“I'd much rather be at home with my family. But I mean, it's the game, it's the game that 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… pic.twitter.com/lo85glVwPk
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) December 22, 2025
“Obviously, I’m gonna be completely honest, I would like to be home on the couch with my family all throughout the day. But our number is called, so we have to go out and perform and I look forward to it.”
Last year, the Lakers played against the Golden State Warriors and had 31 points, four rebounds and 10 assists.
LeBron James demands more from his teammates amid Luka Doncic’s injury
Before their Christmas Day game, the Lakers will face the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday. Ahead of their game, LeBron James wants to see improved production from his teammates. Especially since star guard Luka Doncic suffered a leg contusion on Saturday against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Although no official report has been submitted yet, Doncic is expected to miss some time. Because of that, the Lakers star wants to see more from the others.
“No matter what the circumstance is, it’s still next man up,” James said. “We’re all professionals and we all gotta stay ready. Obviously very challenging circumstances for our ballclub tonight, but at the end of the day, we played extremely hard, we followed our keys. We just came up short.
The last time they faced the Suns, it was an intense game, and James also dealt with Dillon Brooks. The Lakers won a close contest, and the four-time MVP wants others to step up.
