LeBron James did little to hide his frustration with the NBA after the league failed to bring back an old holiday tradition.
Taking to social media ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers’ matchup against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, James lamented the absence of special Christmas uniforms.
“Not having Xmas day unis anymore really sucks! That was a great feeling walking into the locker room and seeing those,” he wrote on X. “It was literally like receiving a [gift] ! Whomp whomp!”
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From 2012-2016, teams that played on Christmas were given specialized jerseys to wear during the game. This recurring practice came to a screeching halt in 2017, however, once Nike replaced Adidas as the NBA’s official uniform provider.
James’ criticism, while miniscule in nature, is just one of the many complaints that’s been raised against the NBA amidst an unprecedented dip in ratings. This season, the league is averaging 1.4 million viewers per nationally televised game – a whopping 18% decrease compared to last year.
The lackluster viewership numbers are no secret to James, who attributed the glaring issue to the abundance of 3-point shots during the 2024-25 campaign. Earlier this month, the Chicago Bulls and Charlotte Hornets broke the NBA record for most threes missed in a single game with 75. On Christmas Day, the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs shot 29-of-77 from behind the arc.
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The NBA used special Christmas jerseys from 2012-2016 (
Getty Images)
“Listen, it’s a bigger conversation. It’s not just the All-Star Game, it’s our game in general,” James told reporters over the weekend. “Our game, there’s a lot of ——- threes being shot. So it’s a bigger conversation than just the All-Star Game.”
Lakers legend Magic Johnson, for one, believes that the NBA’s drop in popularity is due to a lack of heated rivalries in today’s game. “They don’t hate each other,” Johnson conceded. “I hated Larry [Bird] and every Celtics.
Addressing ex-Celtics star Paul Pierce, Johnson continued: “I really don’t like you but [now] you my little brother. Now I love you because you’re out of that green and white. The Celtics and Lakers hated each other. It made for great TV and people tuning in… now everybody’s shaking each other’s hand. Everybody likes each other, won’t go at each other really hard.”
In an attempt to bring more eyes back to the game, the NBA introduced a rejuvenated All-Star Game format, which will now be a tournament-style event featuring four teams of eight players each.
“It’s different, but I don’t know. We’ll see. We’ll see when we get there,” James said. “It’s different. Obviously, any time you make some type of change, there’s gonna be some [criticism]. I don’t know. I have my ideas of what could possibly work, but I’m not gonna do that. We gotta do something.”
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