LeBron James admits the NFL ‘threw us off–‘ after igniting a ratings row on Christmas Day
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 retracted his statement about who owns 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 images)
“Look, I saw the f—— numbers, after that, you guys kicked us out… okay? From a ratings standpoint, you guys kicked us all out,” James said.
NBA they had a great day, averaging 5.2 million viewers over their five games on Christmas Day, the most on the holiday in five years, but the NFL dominated those numbers.
Netflix averaged 24.2 million viewers between the two NFL games on Christmas.
James said Beyoncé’s halftime performance helped the NFL have a good day, despite the non-competitive games.
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Beyoncé on the 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 a fucking Beyoncé out there. (Patrick) Mahomes and Travis (Kelce) and you guys go there, and rock Pittsburgh–, and you know Beyoncé’s coming there,” James said.
Lakers the superstar drew an analogy between the NBA and the NFL as a little brother versus a big brother fight.
“But I had, you know, when you go out there with your little brother, and he can get beat once, (he’s) like, ‘Hey, we didn’t lose that fight, we’re here, we’re standing here, we didn’t lose,’ that’s how I felt that I have to stand up for the NBA,” James said with a laugh.
With Christmas next year falling on a Thursday, there’s a chance the NFL could have more than two games during the day as it continues to compete with the NBA for holiday viewership.
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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 averaged just under 24 points per game, while grabbing just over 7.5 rebounds per game and averaging nearly nine assists per game.
The Lakers’ next game is at home against Miami Heat on Wednesday at 10:00 PM ET.
Fox News’ Ryan Morik contributed to this report.
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