Christmas Day has always been the NBA’s living-room stage, the annual showcase built for stars who can carry the league’s biggest regular-season spotlight. No player has worn that burden more often than LeBron James, who is set to appear in his 20th Christmas Day game, extending his own NBA record for most holiday appearances.
James has long described Christmas as “the NBA’s day,” but this year his tone was less slogan and more truth. Asked what it means to keep playing on Dec. 25, he framed it as both privilege and sacrifice.
“It’s always been an honor to play it,” James said. “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.”
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
That duality is the point of the milestone. LeBron’s Christmas résumé isn’t just longevity; it’s production, too. James is the holiday career leader in points (507), games played (19), field goals made (180), three-pointers made (tied at 31) and victories (11).
With this year’s game, he moves from 19 appearances to 20, a number that once sounded impossible in a league where bodies break down and relevance expires quickly.
The quote also cuts against the usual superstar posture. Most stars talk about Christmas as an honor and stop there. James kept going, acknowledging what every veteran feels but rarely says out loud: that being selected for the league’s marquee holiday window also means giving up the holiday itself.
