NBA: 4 Obvious takeaways from the highly-anticipated 2024-25 Christmas Day slate
Breaking down four big obvious takeaways from the NBA's highly-anticipated 2024-25 Christmas Day slate.
Every year, just before the official release of the regular-season schedule, the NBA likes to tease with the "leak" of some or, in some cases, all of the Christmas Day games. It's a tactic to get the conversation going in anticipation of the new season, which is still a few months away.
Even though the NBA's 2024-25 schedule hasn't been fully released, the highly-anticipated Christmas Day slate has been leaked. According to The Athletic's Shams Charania, here are the matchups for Christmas Day:
- San Antonio Spurs @ New York Knicks
- Minnesota Timberwolves @ Dallas Mavericks
- Philadelphia 76ers @ Boston Celtics
- Los Angeles Lakers @ Golden State Warriors
- Denver Nuggets @ Phoenix Suns
This is certainly a good slate of games, but there is some reading between the lines to be had here. In this article, we'll explore four obvious observations that we can gather from the schedule that the NBA has put together for Christmas Day.
LeBron James and Steph Curry are still faces of the league
Even though both LeBron James and Steph Curry are approaching the "end" of their respective careers in the NBA, the league has made it clear that they're very much still both huge parts of the Association. In most respects, even with the young rising stars, LeBron and Steph are very much still the faces of the league. Considering what happened during the Olympics for Team USA Basketball, it's hard to argue with that.
Both LeBron and Steph were awarded a Christmas Day game even without the guarantee of either of their teams being good this season. That says a lot.