LeBron James Eyes Record 20th NBA Christmas Day Game

LeBron James, the Los Angeles Lakers' veteran forward, expressed a preference for spending Christmas Day with his family rather than playing in the NBA's holiday showcase, though he emphasized the honor of participating in the tradition he grew up admiring. The 40-year-old star will lace up for his record 20th Christmas Day game when the Lakers host the Houston Rockets on Thursday at Crypto.com Arena, with tipoff scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.

James shared his candid thoughts after the Lakers' recent loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, telling reporters, "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 Christmas. It's always been an honor to play it. 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."

Since entering the league in 2003, James has appeared in nearly every Christmas Day slate, missing only 2004, 2005, and 2006 when the NBA featured fewer games. He holds league records...