NEW YORK – The NBA delivered its most-watched Christmas Day in five years, averaging 5.25 million viewers per game in the U.S. across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, Disney+ and ESPN+, according to Nielsen Fast Nationals. Viewership was up 84% vs. last year.

The NBA has long dominated Christmas, just as Thanksgiving has become synonymous with football, but viewers got the best of both worlds on Wednesday.

The NBA's Christmas Day slate featured five classics, with epic performances from the league's biggest stars -- something the NBA desperately needed.

Recently, the National Football League decided to go head-to-head with the National Basketball Association on Christmas Day. It's become a sports turf war of sorts.

The NBA on Christmas is a tradition that goes back to 1947, the league's second season. In fact, since 1947, there has only been one season when the NBA has not played at least one game on a Christmas: the 1998-99 season, which began in February because of a lockout.

The NBA scored its most-watched Christmas Day games in five years, led by the Los Angeles Lakers vs. the Golden State Warriors

LeBron James and the NBA will have to make room for the NFL on Christmas. That shouldn’t be a problem. Both leagues were winners on Wednesday.

The battle for Christmas is on between the NFL and the NBA after both leagues released viewership numbers for the Christmas Day slate of games on Thursday.

LeBron James declared Christmas "our day," but the NFL had nearly 20 million more viewers than the NBA throughout the holiday this week.

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