While the Los Angeles Lakers emerged as an intriguing team with young talent this past season, the signing of LeBron James has vaulted them into another stratosphere in terms of interest.
As such, the Lakers figure to factor prominently on Wednesday when the NBA officially announces their slate of games for Opening Night, Christmas Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day. And as the two-time defending champions, so too do the Golden State Warriors.
Plus, with the history James has with the Warriors, many assumed they would meet the Lakers on at least one of the marquee dates during the regular season.
According to Marc Stein of the New York Times, the Lakers will head north to face the Warriors on Christmas:
A vintage dose of Celtics/Sixers, Giannis and the Bucks at MSG against the Knicks and (you guessed it) LeBron's Lakers in Oakland to face the Warriors are the highlights of the NBA's Christmas Day schedule that will be announced Wednesday afternoon, league sources tell @NYTSports
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) August 8, 2018
Golden State and the Cleveland Cavaliers met on Christmas in each of the past three seasons, with James only managing to win the one game played at Quicken Loans Arena during that time.
The NBA traditionally uses Christmas as a stage for an NBA Finals rematch of the previous year. Of course, with James making a change in free agency, a fourth installment of Cavs-Warriors would’ve lacked the previous interest that had been drummed up.
And while Curry and the Warriors will no longer have the opportunity to play against James in the NBA Finals, the two-time MVP is looking forward to more regular-season matchups now that James is with the Lakers.
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