Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James had a message for the NFL following the team’s close win over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night.

James scored 31 points and dished out 10 assists as Austin Reaves’ go-ahead bucket gave the Lakers a 115-113 win. But with the NFL creeping up on what was the NBA’s most exciting day of the regular season, James sent a warning shot to the league.

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"I love the NFL. I love the NFL. But Christmas is our day," he declared.

Last year, the NFL scheduled three games on Christmas Day as it fell on a Monday. This year, two games were scheduled on Christmas. In 2022, regular season games fell on Christmas Day.

NFL officials said last year the league wouldn’t schedule any games on Christmas if it fell outside of a normally scheduled day.

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"We’ve seen the opportunity with Thanksgiving and some of the audience that we’ve continued to build there," NFL executive vice president of media distribution Hans Schroeder told The Wall Street Journal at the time. "We think there’s an opportunity when the calendar allows it on Christmas now, too, when we know our fans are going to be together."

It was only four months later when the league did an about-face.

"The fans clearly spoke," Schroeder told The Wall Street Journal in March. "There’s a big demand."

The report noted that the NFL would usually give the day away to the NBA and other programming and even moved the old NFL championship off of Christmas if it fell on that day.

This year, the NFL’s games were seen on Netflix. When the ratings come out, everyone will get to see whether James is right.

The NFL dispatched the first round of the College Football Playoff last week in their rare head-to-head matchup.

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Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry remains one of the most recognizable figures in the NBA.

While Curry continues to perform at a high level on the basketball court, he is also 36, and next spring will mark the end of his 16th season in the league. Although the four-time NBA champion has acknowledged he is much closer to the end of his career than he is to its start, Curry said he is able to enjoy living in the moment.

"More than I probably have before," he said during a sit-down with ESPN as he discussed his NBA future. "I think, you know, it's okay to accept and acknowledge that the end is near, whatever point. But only because it allows you to enjoy what's happening right now. But I think the more you talk about it, the more you acknowledge it, it levels up just the sense of urgency of the moment now."

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While Curry did not attach a specific figure to the number of seasons he has left, he made it clear that his drive to win remains strong.

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"It is a matter of acknowledging like, okay, me and [Warriors teammate] Draymond [Green] are in our prime. We're, you know, in a situation where you have to kind of think about the game a little differently. But if you're not winning, the answer is, like, 'How do we make this happen for me?' I only have a certain amount of years left, and I want to win desperately. And what helps me, helps us. So, yeah, it's a funny term, because it's people saying, and what is the actual answer? We're trying to figure it out," he said.

Curry was a key part of the Warriors' recent run to three NBA titles in four seasons. Golden State won its fourth NBA Finals with Curry in 2022. He has also earned two league MVP trophies and is a 10-time NBA All-Star.

The Warriors' 2024-25 campaign got off to a strong start, as the team jumped out to a 12-3 record. But Golden State enters their Christmas Day matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers with a 15-13 record and currently sit in the eighth spot in the Western Conference.

The Warriors failed to qualify for the playoffs last season after they were defeated in the NBA Play-In tournament. Curry and his teammates are looking to avoid a repeat of that this season, and the February trade deadline could prove critical for their 2024-25 hopes. 

The Christmas Day game between the Warriors and the Lakers is set to tip off at 8 p.m. ET.

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