While we have a few NFL games on Christmas Day, the holiday has always been synonymous with the NBA. Between football, pro and college, as well as the World Cup, it sometimes takes work to find time to dial into the NBA. When Christmas comes around, it’s a de facto second NBA opening day.
We’ll dive deeper into the games and who to bet in today’s feature but first, let’s look at the NBA on Christmas Day by the numbers.
Sunday will make the 75th edition of the NBA on Christmas.
The NBA played its first Christmas Day games in 1947, the league’s second season. The record for most points scored on Christmas is 60 by Bernard King of the New York Knicks against the New Jersey Nets in 1984.
The Knicks will take on the Philadelphia 76ers in their record 55th X-Mas Day appearance. This matchup is also a record, their 13th meeting on the holiday.
Later in the day, the Memphis Grizzlies are making their December 25th debut. The Grizzlies will meet the Golden State Warriors in a Western Conference Semifinals rematch. The Warriors make it 15 straight years with the defending NBA champs under the tree.
The Los Angeles Lakers have the most Christmas wins with 24, and this is their 24th-straight appearance. LeBron James will set a record suiting up for the 17th time on December 25th and is the all-time leading scorer with 422 points.
Sunday’s marquee matchup pits the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks. They have the best two records in the NBA and are the past two Eastern Conference champs. They played on the holiday last season when the Bucks overcame a 19-point deficit to beat the C’s.
Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Boston’s Jayson Tatum lead a star-studded group ready to take the court on Sunday. They will be joined by fellow 2021-22 All-NBA First Team selections Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavs), Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets), and Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns).
Antetokounmpo, Doncic, and Jokic are three of the 17 European players who could see action. In all, 37 international players from 22 countries are on Christmas Day rosters, including seven Canadians.
It’s the 21st-straight year that ESPN and ABC will televise the NBA on Christmas and the first time the Disney entities will broadcast all five games. We’re looking at around 13 straight hours of live basketball with some of the best athletes in the world. I can’t wait!
