Jeff Teague believes there may be a very LeBron James-friendly reason behind one of the biggest games on the NBA’s 2026 Christmas Day schedule.
The Philadelphia 76ers are set to visit the Los Angeles Lakers on December 25, giving James a high-profile return to the city he called home for eight seasons before joining Philadelphia this summer. The matchup is already one of the headliners of the league’s five-game Christmas slate.
Teague, speaking in his typically humorous style, suggested the NBA may have done James a favor by making sure he could spend Christmas in Los Angeles with his family.
“They was like, LeBron where you want to play at? He called them and said I want to be home for the holidays,” Teague joked. “Bron said, ‘I want to be home opening gifts with my kids.’”
Jeff Teague says the NBA schedule 76ers vs Lakers on Christmas Day, so LeBron could be home on Christmas:
“They was like, LeBron where you want to play at? He called them and said I want to be home for the holidays. Bron said, “I want to be home opening gifts with my kids.”… pic.twitter.com/8CuqyDAgoB
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) August 11, 2026
There is no evidence that James personally requested the Christmas matchup or that the league arranged the schedule around his holiday plans. Teague’s comments should be understood as a joke rather than a report about how the NBA constructed the schedule.
Still, James will technically be the visiting player when Philadelphia arrives in Los Angeles, but the game allows him to be back in the city where his family has long maintained roots while also delivering exactly the type of reunion matchup the NBA traditionally features on Christmas.
The basketball storyline is just as strong. James will face the Lakers for the first time on Christmas as a member of the 76ers, putting him opposite Luka Dončić and his former team on one of the most watched dates of the regular season.
James has also spoken in the past about the challenge of playing on Christmas and being away from family, making Teague’s observation even more fitting, even if it was delivered for laughs. Christmas games are prestigious assignments, but they also require players to balance one of the league’s biggest television showcases with a major family holiday.
For the NBA, the matchup is almost perfect regardless of how it came together. Philadelphia gets another national showcase for its revamped roster, the Lakers get James back in Los Angeles, and the league gets one of the strongest reunion storylines available.
