faced off in the NBA Finals the previous June.

James' last regular season win over the Warriors came during Christmas 2016--when Lakers head coach Luke Walton was still an assistant coach at Golden State. The game will tip off at 5 p.m. on ABC as the fourth of five NBA games that day.

The Lakers were in a similar situation last year with Paul George as they are with Leonard now: an NBA star reportedly wants to force a trade to the Lakers, but gets dealt somewhere else instead. George, however, immediately re-signed with the Thunder in free agency.

The last time George played at Staples, Lakers fans who still believed they had a chance to recruit him started "We Want Paul" chants. However, the Palmdale native's next trip home willlikely get a much more icy reception from the purple and gold faithful. The game starts at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.

MLK Day at Staples: Jan. 21 vs. Warriors

Fans Line Up for LeBron Pizza Party

The newest Laker LeBron James hinted he may show up at Blaze pizza in Culver City to grab the free slices they were handing out, but fans didn't get to see him by 6 p.m. Kim Baldonado reports for the NBC4 News at 5 Tuesday, July 10, 2018.

(Published Tuesday, July 10, 2018)

The Lakers also get a slot in the NBA's Martin Luther King Jr. day schedule, a rematch with the Warriors at Staples, the site where a young, rebuilding Lakers squad pulled off stunning upsets against the Dubs twice in 2016. Even with James now