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Australia’s newest NBA star Josh Green faces a huge Christmas Day clash against LeBron James and his champion LA Lakers.
Australian rookie guard Josh Green faces the ultimate Christmas Day NBA challenge when his Dallas Mavericks take on LeBron James and his champion Lakers in Los Angeles.
Green’s maiden foray in the world’s best basketball league will step up a notch against the NBA’s best player and team.
Respected ESPN reporter Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting that the NBA have tentatively locked in its Christmas Day schedule, with Dallas set to take on Los Angeles at the Staples Centre.
Wojnarowski also confirmed that the day would likely open with Miami hosting New Orleans, Milwaukee against Golden State, Boston versus Brooklyn, and Denver taking on the Clippers in a rematch of the Western Conference semi-final.
For Green, though, the prospect of playing against Los Angeles on Christmas Day is a dream come true given he idolised Lakers legend Kobe Bryant growing up in the Sydney suburb of Castle Hill.
“Kobe was the guy who I always looked up to,” Green told Channel 7’s Sunrise.
“From a young age, I always used to have his jersey on, and I was in the front yard playing basketball, and I used to count down the shot clock and want to get a buzzer beater like I was him.
“I was lucky enough to watch him when I was younger two times when I came to America for a holiday.”
Two weeks have passed since Green was selected with the 18th pick in the NBA draft, but the thrill of the moment still hasn’t worn off.
“It is weird me looking back at it,” said Green, who this week officially signed off on his rookie contract with the Mavericks, where he will take home $3.8 million in his first season alone.
“It is something that didn’t feel real at the time.
“I was super starstruck. I got a call from my agent the pick before I was getting picked where he told me.
“It was crazy. My mum was very emotional, and the rest of my family were very happy.
“It was a feeling that you can never get again, but it was awesome.”
The NBA pre-season begins on December 11 (US time), with Dallas’s first game against the Bucks in Milwaukee on December 12.
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