LeBron James declared after the Los Angeles Lakers victory over the Golden State Warriors on Christmas that the holiday belongs to the NBA.
“I love the NFL, but Christmas is our day,” James said on the court after the game.
James went back on his statement about who owned Christmas during a recent appearance on “New Heights.”
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Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James dribbles against the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. (Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Photos)
“Listen, I saw the f—– numbers, afterwards you guys kicked our a– okay? From a viewer standpoint, you all kicked our a–,” James said.
The NBA had a great day, averaging 5.2 million viewers across its five games on Christmas, the most for the holiday in five years, but the NFL dominated those numbers.
Netflix averaged 24.2 million viewers between their two NFL games on Christmas.
James said having Beyoncé perform at halftime helped the NFL have a good day despite the non-competitive games.
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Beyoncé on a scaffold during halftime of the game between the Houston Texans and the Baltimore Ravens, on December 25, 2024. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
“You know, the games weren’t as great as they should have been, but when you have f—— Beyoncé comes out there. (Patrick) Mahomes and Travis (Kelce) and you go out there and kick Pittsburgh is a- — and you know Beyoncé is coming out there,” James said.
The Lakers’ superstar drew the analogy between the NBA and the NFL as a younger brother and older brother who struggled.
“But I had, you know, when you go out there with your little brother and he might get beat up one time, (he’s) like, ‘Hey, we didn’t lose that game, we here, we’re standing here, we lost no,’ that’s how I felt I had to stand up for the NBA,” James said, laughing.
With Christmas falling on a Thursday next year, there’s a chance the NFL will have more than two games during the day as they continue to compete with the NBA for holiday ratings.
Lakers forward LeBron James smiles after scoring against the Denver Nuggets on March 2, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
James’ Lakers are 20-17 this season, and despite just turning 40, James has been productive this season.
James has averaged just under 24 points per game. game while grabbing just over 7.5 rebounds per game and averages nearly nine assists per match.
The Lakers next game is at home against the Miami Heat at 10 PM ET on Wednesday.
