The Los Angeles Lakers have a chance to ruin LeBron James' Christmas by becoming only the second team to defeat the all-time great in his first return to the city he just left. With the marquee matchups of the 2026-27 season beginning to leak, the date for James' return to Los Angeles is set.
Christmas Day Matchups | Time |
|---|---|
San Antonio Spurs @ New York Knicks | 12:00 PM ET/9:00 AM PT |
Miami Heat @ Boston Celtics | 2:30 PM ET/11:30 AM PT |
Philadelphia 76ers @ Los Angeles Lakers | 5:00 PM ET/2:00 PM PT |
Oklahoma City Thunder @ Minnesota Timberwolves | 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT |
Denver Nuggets @ Golden State Warriors | 10:30 PM ET/7:30 PM PT |
The Philadelphia 76ers are visiting the Lakers for a 2 p.m. PT/5 p.m. ET clash that is right in the middle of the NBA Christmas Day slate. Fans can tune in to see James' first game back to Los Angeles on as big of a regular season stage as the league could offer. The Lakers will hope to bring LeBron's record in his first game back in the city he just left to 2-2.
LeBron James' return to Cleveland was a spectacle
Joining the 76ers brings James to the fourth place he's going to home in the NBA. That gives us three previous instances of LeBron returning to the city he once repped in the league.
The first of those moments is by far the most well-known. It was the return to Cleveland after his infamous decision to leave the Cavaliers for the Miami Heat in the summer of 2010.
The boos were at a deafening pitch to start the night. James was still deemed a traitor by Cavaliers fans at that time following his abandonment of the franchise. The crowd was vicious and relentless, creating one of the most hostile environments that a basketball player had ever seen.
James silenced them by night's end with a dominant performance. In just a hair over 30 minutes, LeBron poured in 38 points, shooting 15-of-25 from the field, to go with eight assists, five rebounds, one steal, and one block. The Heat comfortably won 118-90.
The Heat stopped LeBron James and the Cavaliers in their tracks
When the scenario was reversed, and LeBron was returning to Miami as a member of the Cavaliers, the Heat did not afford him the same type of grace that he got in 2010. James came back to South Beach for the first time and left as a loser.
Similarly to what the Lakers will get this year, it was a Christmas Day matchup between the Cavaliers and Heat. Miami won 101-91.
James had a solid outing, scoring 30 points on 9-of-16 shooting, to go with eight assists and four rebounds in 40 minutes. It was not enough.
LeBron James' dominance squeezed out a win in his second Cleveland return
Most Lakers fans should still remember when James guided the team to a win against the Cavaliers in the first matchup back in Cleveland after departing for a second time. It was a tight 109-105 win for Los Angeles that was fueled by a great LeBron game.
James posted 32 points, shooting 11-of-20, 14 rebounds, seven assists, and one block in the victory. That brought his record in these types of games up to 2-1.
Lakers will look to play spoiler in LeBron James' first Los Angeles return
That brings us right back to 2026. The date is set and the Lakers will look to replicate what the Heat did in this situation.
James made his intentions to leave Los Angeles clear right before free agency tipped off. After successfully adjusting to life as the third star behind Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, then reacclimating to being a first option when both went down with late-season injuries, LeBron decided his future was going to be elsewhere. That elsewhere ended up being Philadelphia.
The Lakers and 76ers both project to be pushing for the contender label in 2026-27. As far as that goes, this may be the best head-to-head, from a team quality standpoint, that one of these return matchups has ever gotten. Los Angeles will aim to create an inkling of doubt regarding the choice James made by beating their former star on Christmas.
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