Though he's currently serving as the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, Frank Vogel says the time he spent with Paul George and the Indiana Pacers will always be close to his heart.

Vogel's Lakers are set to face George and the Clippers on Christmas Day. Though they're with different teams these days, Vogel says his former Pacers players are like family:

“It’s always unique,” Vogel said of coaching against George, via The Athletic. “That Pacers team, they’ll always be like family to me. We just played against George Hill a couple games ago, same type of thing. I love those guys and they’ll be family forever. But on Christmas Day, they’re the enemy. (George) the enemy, I guess. The Clippers are.”

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Vogel, who signed a three-year contract to serve as the Lakers' head coach in May, has his team playing well this season. The Lakers are holding a 24-6 overall record, though they have dropped three consecutive games.

The Clippers (22-10 overall) are also enjoying a nice season. George was sidelined through the early stages of this campaign, as he was rehabbing from a pair of shoulder surgeries. He's since recovered, and he's playing quite well. In his 21 appearances, the former Fresno State standout has racked up averages of 24.2 points on 44.5 percent shooting from the field (40.1 percent from beyond the arc), 5.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.5 steals in 30.6 minutes per outing.

The Lakers and Clippers will square off inside the Staples Center for their Christmas Day matchup at 8:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, with ABC having live broadcast coverage.