25th December is always a special day in the NBA calendar. The Christmas Day games have a different feel to them, with families sitting together to catch the high-paced action. But LeBron James will be away from his family on Christmas Day yet again. If that wasn’t the reason for dampening his spirits, the sight after entering the locker room was enough to finish off the work. So, finally, the King has raised his voice against that practice which might as well change the wheels in the league.

A nostalgic LeBron James chose to speak up on Christmas morning and expressed his grievances with Adam Silver’s league. “Not having Xmas day unis anymore really sucks! That was a great feeling walking into the locker room and seeing those. It was literally like receiving a 🎁! Whomp whomp! 🤷🏾‍♂️,” the Lakers star wrote on X.

The Purple and Gold will be taking on the Warriors later on today in their usual threads. LeBron James vs Stephen Curry on Christmas day and you couldn’t ask for a better box office fixture than the rivalry that defined generation. But the story was different before Nike came onto the NBA scene. In 2017, the $114bn company took over the uniform contract and discontinued the tradition long held by Adidas.

The Christmas Day uniforms from 2008-2016 had special themes each year. The snowflakes of the late 2000s with a white design around the team logo was the starting point of the trend. The final edition in 2016 saw the Christmas card theme with team names in cursive lettering, mirroring the fonts from a card. LeBron certainly wants those days back when he used to roll with the Heat and the Cavs. And someone like the future Hall of Famer calling it out just might change the way going forward.

LeBron James’ Christmas callout might force Adam Silver to rethink jersey strategy

Adam Silver and his league are doing everything in its power to steady the ratings ship. With TV ratings going down and the All-Star game losing its charm, Silver has looked for ideas to add a new spark to the league. One of the efforts saw the revamped NBA All-Star format, abolishing the East vs West tradition. Stephen Curry was reportedly the brain behind the idea, with Silver taking suggestions from the Dubs sharpshooter. Will LeBron’s words have a similar impact?

Why not? After all, that’s LeBron and he is the ratings. The 39-year-old is nearing the end of the road for him and this short window might be the only opportunity Silver might have of salvaging the situation until the next face of the league is determined. Nike is the league’s global outfitting, merchandising, marketing and content partner until 2037.

The company is also in charge of designing and manufacturing uniforms, on-court apparel and fan merchandise. And adding to that, LeBron is one of the faces of Nike’s basketball shoes with a lifetime contract. So pulling the right strings just might do the trick. Looking at the comment section of LeBron’s post, multiple fans were in favor of bringing back the Christmas unis. So the fans have spoken, now it’s time for Mr. Silver to do his thing.