Giannis says stars like LeBron and Steph are forced to miss special moments ‘all the time’ due to Christmas games

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo shared an interesting perspective about his team not having a game on Christmas Day in the 2024-25 season.

The two-time league MVP shared that players like Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry and Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James have to play on Christmas a lot, and it causes them to miss valuable moments.

Antetokounmpo has also had to play on Christmas a lot, but that won’t be the case this time around. He explained that he has experienced mixed emotions about the scheduling decision this season, as he and many of his teammates seemingly felt like the Bucks were worthy of a game on Christmas. Fortunately, he’s been able to find a silver lining.

“I’m pissed,” Antetokounmpo said, per The Athletic. “But I’m happy at the same time because I get to for the first time since 2017 — yeah, 2017 was the last time I actually spent Christmas like a regular person, I didn’t play a noon game. I get to, for once, sit on my couch and be entertained and watch NBA basketball, be entertained by other players and not the one doing the entertaining.

“So, yeah, I was pissed, but then 20 minutes later, I was like, ‘No Christmas game, huh? I get to spend the day with my kids and open presents.’ Like, you don’t take it for granted because like, LeBron plays, Steph plays, all of these big-time players play in Christmas games all the time in their career and they miss valuable moments. Like, we miss so much valuable moments from our lives and I’m a person that I try to not take things for granted. And if this is how it should be, this is how it should be.”

While the Bucks won’t play on Christmas Day this season, they have stormed back into the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference after a slow start to the season.

Milwaukee is currently the No. 5 seed in the East with a 15-12 record, and the team has won seven of its last 10 games.

In addition to that, Antetokounmpo and the Bucks won the NBA Cup this season, defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder in the championship game. Antetokounmpo was magnificent in that matchup, scoring 26 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the field. He also had 19 rebounds, 10 assists, two steals and three blocks for Milwaukee.

Overall, the eight-time All-Star is having one of the best seasons of his NBA career. He’s averaging 32.7 points (which leads the NBA), 11.6 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game while shooting 61.3 percent from the field.

Last season, the Bucks were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs with Antetokounmpo injured, but they’re hoping that they can make a deep run with him playing at this high of a level in the 2024-25 campaign.

If Antetokounmpo can lead the Bucks to some success in the playoffs this season, it’s possible that will lead to the NBA giving the Bucks a Christmas Day game in the future. However, it seems like the star is accepting of his current situation as well, a healthy perspective to have for such a huge star in the NBA.