AS in the previous years, there are five games to be played on Christmas Day (December 26, Manila time) in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
These are: Boston at Toronto (1:00 a.m. MT), Milwaukee at Philadelphia (3:30 a.m.), Houston at Golden State (6:00 a.m.), Los Angeles Clippers at Los Angeles Lakers (9:00 a.m.) and New Orleans at Denver (11:30 a.m.).
Barring an injury between now and December 25, the Lakers’ LeBron James will be playing in his 14th Christmas game against their co-NBA title-contending LA Clippers at the Staples Center, where both LA clubs have been co-tenants since 1999. In this one, the Lakers have been designated as the “home team.”
If LeBron James does suit up, he’ll break a tie with Shaquille O’Neal, Dwyane Wade, Earl Monroe and Dolph Schayes for the second-most all time. Only Kobe Bryant (16) has played more.
James ranks third on the all-time scoring list for Christmas Day games with 338 points, trailing only Bryant (395) and Oscar Robertson (377).
* * *
The first NBA games played on December 25 came in 1947, a year after the inception of the NBA, which was then called the Basketball Association of America (BAA). Three games were held during the holiday. In the first game of the triple-header, the New York Knicks stunned the Providence Steamrollers, 89-75, at the old Madison Square Garden.
Since the time, the NBA has played games annually on Christmas Day except in 1998 when the team owners locked out the players due to the absence of a labor contract and resulted in 32 of the 82 games of the 1998-99 regular season being cancelled.
There have been 21 instances wherein a player scored 40 points or more during a Christmas NBA game, including a pair a year ago.
Bernard King owns the highest Christmas Day individual scoring record. In 1984, the New York Knicks forward knocked in 60 points (including 40 in the first half) but the visiting New Jersey (now Brooklyn) Nets emerged victorious, 120-114, at the Madison Square Garden.
The late Wilt Chamberlain had the second-highest output with 59 points for the Philadelphia (now Golden State) Warriors in 1961 holiday contest against New York. Like King, Chamberlain’s offensive wizardry was put to waste as the Knicks won, 136-135, in double overtime.
Rick Barry of the San Francisco (now Golden State) Warriors torched the Cincinnati Royals (the harbinger of the Sacramento Kings) for 50 points in a 1966 Christmas game. This time, it came on a winning note as the Warriors triumphed, 124-112.
James Harden and Kyrie Irving were the most recent players to reach the 40-point plateau on Christmas Day. A year ago, Harden tallied 41 points during the Houston Rockets’ 113-109 home victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder and Irving, then with Boston but now with Brooklyn, netted 40 points in the Celtics’ 121-114 overtime decision over the visiting Philadelphia 76ers.
The two were the first players to score 40 or more points on Christmas since Kevin Durant, now a teammate of Irving with the Nets, had 44 for the Thunder in 2010.
Other 40 points-or-more producers on Christmas Day are Jerry West (47, LA Lakers, 1963); Tracy McGrady (46, Orlando Magic , 2002); Dominique Wilkins (45, Atlanta Hawks, 1987); Jerry West (44, LA Lakers, 1965); Tracy McGrady (43, Orlando Magic, 2000); Don Ohl (43, Baltimore (now Washington) Bullets, 1966); Kobe Bryant (42, LA Lakers, 2004); Michael Jordan (42, Chicago Bulls, 1992); and Bob Love (42, Chicago Bulls, 1970).
There have been nine triple-double games by a player on Christmas Day, the most recent being Golden State’s Draymond Green, who collected 12 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in the Warriors’ 99-92 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers (LeBron James’ last Christmas with the Wine City outfit) at the Oracle Arena, which has since been replaced by the newly-built Chase Center in San Francisco as the Dubs’ new home arena starting this season.
“The Big O” Oscar Robertson is the only player with multiple T-Ds on the holiday and leads the pack with four of them – Cincinnati vs. Seattle, 1967; Cincinnati vs. St. Louis, 1963; Cincinnati vs. LA Lakers, 1961; and Cincinnati vs. Detroit, 1960.
Other T-D performances recorded on Christmas Day are: Russell Westbrook, then with Oklahoma City but now with Houston, vs. New York in 2013; LeBron James (Miami vs. LA Lakers, 2010); Billy Cunningham (Philadelphia vs. Detroit, 1970); and John Havlicek (Boston vs. New York, 1967).
Outspoken Enes Kanter, who was born in Zurich, Switzerland of Turkish descent, chalked up 31 points and 22 rebounds for his former NBA employer New York during a 2017 Christmas game, a 105-98 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers at the Madison Square Garden. The 6-foot-11 Kanter, who is now in his first year with the Boston Celtics, thus joined Chamberlain (three times), Bill Russell and Bob Lanier as the only players with a 30-20 game on the holiday. He also was the first player to collect 20 points and 20 rebounds on Christmas since Moses Malone in 1986.
Kyle Kuzma (31) and James were the only rookies in NBA history to score at least 30 points on Christmas Day in the last 32 seasons. Kuzma accomplished the feat with the LA Lakers in 2017 and his now-teammate James turned in the trick in 2003 while donning the Cleveland colors.
Bryant, another Lakers great for 20 NBA seasons (1996-2016) headed for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame next year, still remains the NBA’s all-time leading scorer on Christmas Day with 395 points in a record 16 appearances – ahead of second-place Robertson’s 377 in 12 games – despite having already retired after the 2015-16 campaign and missing several holiday games due to injuries.