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NBA Christmas games
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NBA Christmas games
Games held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) on Christmas Day, December 25, have been an annual tradition since the league's second season in 1947. Since 2008, five games have been played on Christmas. Since 1995, the current NBA champions play a game on Christmas Day (with the exceptions of 1998, 2003 and 2007). Unlike the National Football League (NFL)'s traditional Thanksgiving Day games, the NBA's Christmas Day games have no fixed opponents; rather, they feature some of the best teams and players.
The first NBA game played on December 25 came in 1947, a year after the NBA's inception, when the New York Knicks beat the Providence Steamrollers at Madison Square Garden 89–75. Since then, the NBA has played games every year on Christmas Day except in 1998 (when a lockout canceled half the 1998–99 season). In contrast, Major League Baseball (MLB) and Major League Soccer (MLS) are in their off-seasons during Christmas, the National Football League (NFL) (prior to 2020) only schedules Christmas games when Christmas falls on the weekend (and even then only schedules games on Christmas occasionally) and the National Hockey League (NHL)'s collective bargaining agreement forbids playing games on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day (celebrated as such in Canada as a statutory holiday, though otherwise the non-holiday day after Christmas in the United States; in seasons in which the latter falls on a Saturday, the break occurs one day earlier, from December 23–25). In college football, the only bowl game traditionally scheduled for Christmas has been the defunct Aloha Bowl (and for one year, its replacement, the ESPN Events-owned Hawaii Bowl; that game itself moved its date specifically due to ESPN and ABC's acquisition of NBA telecasts, including Christmas Day games). Thus, the NBA is the only league to regularly schedule games on December 25.
In the early days, regional proximity dictated most of the matchups. Teams would usually play their geographical rivals to cut down on holiday travel and to allow them to have more time with their families. According to Dr. Jack Ramsay, who coached the Portland Trail Blazers from 1976–77 (their only championship season) to 1986, "Christmas meant being at home with the family and having a game we always won. That was a perfect Christmas to me." He set the record for most coaching victories on Christmas Day with 11, an achievement that Phil Jackson later matched in 2008.
In the early 1980s, the New York Knicks put on a show three consecutive seasons. In one game (1984), hall-of-fame forward Bernard King scoring 60 points—the most ever scored by a player on Christmas Day, With the advent of television and the excitement caused by these games, the NBA decided to schedule games over the holiday that showcased the best teams and players.
While there is no specific system to determine which teams will play the Christmas games, officials from both the NBA and the networks that broadcast the NBA meet during each offseason to plan the schedule of games for the upcoming holiday. The Christmas matchups usually include the teams that played in the previous season's NBA Finals. The NBA also usually tries to feature the league's reigning MVP, as well as the league's other best players. Some examples of this include 2009 and 2010, when the defending champions of those seasons, the Los Angeles Lakers played at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2009 and the Miami Heat in 2010, so that they could have showdowns between Kobe Bryant and LeBron James both times.
The Knicks have played more Christmas Day games than any other team, with 57 total. They are 25–32 on the holiday. Their most recent Yuletide appearance came in 2024 when they defeated the San Antonio Spurs, 117–114, at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks have a checkered history on the 25th. Their 25 wins are tied with the Lakers for the most by a team on Christmas Day, while their 32 losses are the most.
Conversely, the Charlotte Hornets are the only active NBA team to never play on Christmas Day, having not been scheduled to play at least once since joining the league in 1988. This includes the franchise's second incarnation as the Charlotte Bobcats which played from 2004 to 2014.
The first Christmas Day game to take place outside the United States took place in 2019 when the Boston Celtics defeated the Toronto Raptors 118–102 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada.
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NBA Christmas games
Games held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) on Christmas Day, December 25, have been an annual tradition since the league's second season in 1947. Since 2008, five games have been played on Christmas. Since 1995, the current NBA champions play a game on Christmas Day (with the exceptions of 1998, 2003 and 2007). Unlike the National Football League (NFL)'s traditional Thanksgiving Day games, the NBA's Christmas Day games have no fixed opponents; rather, they feature some of the best teams and players.
The first NBA game played on December 25 came in 1947, a year after the NBA's inception, when the New York Knicks beat the Providence Steamrollers at Madison Square Garden 89–75. Since then, the NBA has played games every year on Christmas Day except in 1998 (when a lockout canceled half the 1998–99 season). In contrast, Major League Baseball (MLB) and Major League Soccer (MLS) are in their off-seasons during Christmas, the National Football League (NFL) (prior to 2020) only schedules Christmas games when Christmas falls on the weekend (and even then only schedules games on Christmas occasionally) and the National Hockey League (NHL)'s collective bargaining agreement forbids playing games on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day (celebrated as such in Canada as a statutory holiday, though otherwise the non-holiday day after Christmas in the United States; in seasons in which the latter falls on a Saturday, the break occurs one day earlier, from December 23–25). In college football, the only bowl game traditionally scheduled for Christmas has been the defunct Aloha Bowl (and for one year, its replacement, the ESPN Events-owned Hawaii Bowl; that game itself moved its date specifically due to ESPN and ABC's acquisition of NBA telecasts, including Christmas Day games). Thus, the NBA is the only league to regularly schedule games on December 25.
In the early days, regional proximity dictated most of the matchups. Teams would usually play their geographical rivals to cut down on holiday travel and to allow them to have more time with their families. According to Dr. Jack Ramsay, who coached the Portland Trail Blazers from 1976–77 (their only championship season) to 1986, "Christmas meant being at home with the family and having a game we always won. That was a perfect Christmas to me." He set the record for most coaching victories on Christmas Day with 11, an achievement that Phil Jackson later matched in 2008.
In the early 1980s, the New York Knicks put on a show three consecutive seasons. In one game (1984), hall-of-fame forward Bernard King scoring 60 points—the most ever scored by a player on Christmas Day, With the advent of television and the excitement caused by these games, the NBA decided to schedule games over the holiday that showcased the best teams and players.
While there is no specific system to determine which teams will play the Christmas games, officials from both the NBA and the networks that broadcast the NBA meet during each offseason to plan the schedule of games for the upcoming holiday. The Christmas matchups usually include the teams that played in the previous season's NBA Finals. The NBA also usually tries to feature the league's reigning MVP, as well as the league's other best players. Some examples of this include 2009 and 2010, when the defending champions of those seasons, the Los Angeles Lakers played at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2009 and the Miami Heat in 2010, so that they could have showdowns between Kobe Bryant and LeBron James both times.
The Knicks have played more Christmas Day games than any other team, with 57 total. They are 25–32 on the holiday. Their most recent Yuletide appearance came in 2024 when they defeated the San Antonio Spurs, 117–114, at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks have a checkered history on the 25th. Their 25 wins are tied with the Lakers for the most by a team on Christmas Day, while their 32 losses are the most.
Conversely, the Charlotte Hornets are the only active NBA team to never play on Christmas Day, having not been scheduled to play at least once since joining the league in 1988. This includes the franchise's second incarnation as the Charlotte Bobcats which played from 2004 to 2014.
The first Christmas Day game to take place outside the United States took place in 2019 when the Boston Celtics defeated the Toronto Raptors 118–102 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada.