The Los Angeles Lakers have become a mainstay on Christmas Day. Christmas Day has become a marquee day for basketball, much in the way that the NFL has become a tradition on Thanksgiving.
The Lakers have played on Christmas Day every year since the strike-shortened season of 1998-99 when the NBA season didn’t start until February. This year’s matchup is a highly anticipated one, as they will be taking on their STAPLES Center co-tenant rivals, the LA Clippers.
This is the second matchup of the season between the two LA teams. The Clippers won the first matchup, on opening night, 112-102.