The Lakers will see a familiar face for its annual Christmas Day game this season.
LeBron James, who signed with the Philadelphia 76ers last month, will be making his return to Los Angeles on Dec. 25 when the Lakers host Philadelphia at Crypto.com Arena, the NBA revealed Tuesday morning in what it called a “sneak peek” of the 2026-27 schedule. The game is scheduled to tip off at 2 p.m. on ESPN and ABC.
The full schedule will be revealed Thursday.
The league also unveiled its opening week slate, with the Lakers set to open the season by hosting the Golden State Warriors on Oct. 21 in a game scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN.
James, entering his 24th season in the NBA, will also figure prominently in the opening week broadcast schedule as the 76ers will take on the New York Knicks on Oct. 20 at Madison Square Garden on NBC and Peacock. The game will be James’ first with his new team and will feature the Knicks raising a banner to mark their first NBA championship since 1973.
Two days later, the 76ers will play their home opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team that drafted James in 2003, in game that will be broadcast on ESPN.
James’ new team was always going to have a prominent place on the schedule, and NBA commissioner Adam Silver even said last month that he wanted league’s career scoring leader to announce his decision because teams and networks were calling to ask when the schedule would be completed.
