LeBron James acknowledges NFL's dominance after Christmas Day ratings battle.
On Christmas, the NBA had lower viewership compared to the NFL.
The NBA owns Christmas, according to LeBron James after the Lakers' victory over the Warriors on Christmas Day.
"Although I love the NFL, Christmas is our special day," James stated on the court following the game.
During a recent appearance on "New Heights," James backtracked on his statement about who owns Christmas.
James stated, "I saw the numbers after the fact, and you guys kicked our a-- alright? From a viewership standpoint, you guys did an excellent job."
On Christmas, the NBA had a successful day with an average of 5.2 million viewers across their five games, marking the highest viewership in five years. However, the NFL still outperformed the NBA in terms of viewership.
Netflix averaged 24.2 million viewers between their two NFL games on Christmas.
Despite the non-competitive games, the NFL had a good day because James said Beyoncé performing during halftime helped.
James remarked that the games were not as good as they should have been, but when Beyoncé appeared, Mahomes, Kelce, and they went to kick Pittsburgh's butt, and Beyoncé was there.
The Lakers' superstar compared the NBA and the NFL to two siblings fighting like a little brother and a big brother.
When you go out with your little brother and he may get beat up, he might say, "We didn't lose that fight, we're here, we stand here, we didn't lose," and that's how I felt I had to stand up for the NBA, James said while laughing.
There is a possibility that the NFL will have more than two games on Christmas day next year, as they may try to draw more viewers by competing with the NBA for ratings.
Despite being 40 years old, James has been productive this season with his Lakers having a record of 20-17.
James has nearly 24 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 9 assists per game on average.
The Miami Heat will visit the Lakers at their home court for their next game on Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET.
Planet Chronicle' Ryan Morik contributed to this report.
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