On December 25, the National Basketball Association (NBA) will maintain its tradition of playing games on Christmas Day by scheduling five major matches. As we approach the holiday season of this year, here is a look at some of the most noteworthy games, the most impressive individual performances, and some statistics to keep in mind.
1. The National Basketball Association (NBA) will be celebrating its 76th season on Christmas Day this year. The National Basketball Association (NBA) started playing games on Christmas Day in 1947, when it was in its second season.
2. For the sixteenth year in a row, the National Basketball Association will host five games on Christmas Day.
3. On Christmas Day, the National Basketball Association will interact with fans in over 200 nations and territories, speaking more than 50 different languages.
4. In the United States, ABC and ESPN will work together to broadcast all five games that are scheduled to take place on Christmas Day. This will result in more than thirteen hours of coverage in a row.
5. On Christmas Day, three of the five games are first-time matchups: the Golden State Warriors competing against the Denver Nuggets, the Philadelphia 76ers competing against the Miami Heat, and the Dallas Mavericks competing against the Phoenix Suns. During the 2021-22 season, each of those three meetings was a series that was part of the playoffs.
6. This will be the first time since 2008 that the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers have competed against each other on Christmas Day. This game, which took place fifteen years ago, was a rematch of the NBA Finals from the previous season. The Lakers triumphed over the Celtics, who were the reigning NBA champions at the time, and Phil Jackson won his thousandth game as a head coach.
7. The New York Knicks began their showdown against the Milwaukee Bucks this year with a total of 55 games played on Christmas Day, making them the team with the most games played on this day.
8. Each of the five games will feature at least one player who has been awarded the Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award. These players include Giannis Antetokounmpo of Milwaukee, Nikola JokicÁ of Denver, and Stephen Curry of Golden State, who will compete against each other; LeBron James of Los Angeles, who will play against Boston; Joel Embiid of Philadelphia, who will play against Miami; and Kevin Durant of Phoenix, who will play against Dallas…
9. The Lakers (2020), Bucks (2021), Warriors (2022), and Nuggets (2023) will all be competing in it. These four teams have won the NBA championship in the past.
10. On Christmas Day, LeBron James is the career leader in points (460) and games played (17), and he is tied with Dwyane Wade for the most victories (10) in the NBA.
11. Other players have established themselves as career leaders on Christmas Day, including Bill Russell with 176 rebounds, Oscar Robertson with 145 assists, Shaquille O’Neal with 25 blocked shots, Russell Westbrook with 29 steals, and James Harden with 31 made three-pointers.
12. When the New York Knicks played the New Jersey Nets on Christmas Day in 1984, Bernard King set a new record by scoring sixty points for the Knicks.
13. Wilt Chamberlain holds the record for the most rebounds in a single game on Christmas Day with 36 in 1961; Guy Rodgers and Nate “Tiny” Archibald hold the record for the most assists with 18 in 1966 and 1972, respectively; DeAndre Jordan holds the record for the most blocked shots with eight in 2011; Kyrie Irving holds the record for the most steals with seven in 2016; and Patty Mills holds the record for the most three-pointers made with eight in 2021.
14. With a scoring average of 43.3 points per game on Christmas Day, Tracy McGrady holds the record for the greatest scoring average in his career. In each of his three games, he scored at least forty points against the opponent.
15. With a record of 11-2 and a winning percentage of.846 on Christmas Day, Miami has the highest winning percentage among active teams. This includes the fact that they are currently on an eight-game winning streak. Under Erik Spoelstra, the current head coach of the Heat, the team has not suffered a single loss on Christmas Day.
16. There are nine players who have achieved a triple-double on Christmas Day. These players include Oscar Robertson, who has four, John Havlicek, Billy Cunningham, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, who has two, Draymond Green, Kemba Walker, James Harden, and Nikola JokicÁ…
17. The record for the most victories by a head coach on Christmas Day is held by Phil Jackson and Jack Ramsay, who each have 11 victories to their credit.
18. Among active players who have played two or more games on Christmas Day, Joel Embiid has the highest average of 31.3 points scored in four games played on Christmas Day.
19. Nikola JokicÁ joined Oscar Robertson and James Harden as the only players to have 40 points, 15 rebounds, and 15 assists in a regular-season game. His achievement was on Christmas Day of the previous year, when he scored 41 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, and assisted 15 assists…
20. In terms of team victories on Christmas Day, the Lakers have a total of 24, which is one more than the Knicks, who have a total of 23.