The NBA will continue its tradition of playing games on Christmas Day with five marquee matchups on Dec. 25. Below is a look at some of the standout games, top individual performances and facts to know heading into the holiday this year.
1. This year marks the 76th edition of the NBA on Christmas Day. The NBA began playing games on Christmas Day in 1947 in its second season.
2. The NBA will have five games on Christmas Day for the 16th year in a row.
3. The NBA on Christmas Day will reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 50 languages.
4. ABC and ESPN will combine to televise all five Christmas Day games in the United States, spanning more than 13 consecutive hours of coverage.
5. Three of the five games are first-time matchups on Christmas Day: Golden State Warriors vs. Denver Nuggets, Philadelphia 76ers vs. Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks vs. Phoenix Suns. All three of those matchups were playoff series in the 2021-22 season.
6. The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers will meet on Christmas Day for the first time since 2008. That game 15 years ago was a rematch of the previous season’s NBA Finals, with the Lakers snapping the defending NBA champion Celtics’ 19-game winning streak and Phil Jackson recording his 1,000th victory as a head coach.
7. The New York Knicks have played the most games on Christmas Day with 55 (entering their matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks this year).
8. All five games will feature at least one recipient of the Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award: Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (vs. New York); Denver’s Nikola Jokic´ and Golden State’s Stephen Curry (vs. each other); Los Angeles’ LeBron James (vs. Boston); Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid (vs. Miami); and Phoenix’s Kevin Durant (vs. Dallas).
9. The last four NBA champions will be in action: Lakers (2020), Bucks (2021), Warriors (2022) and Nuggets (2023).
10. LeBron James is the Christmas Day career leader in points (460) and games played (17) and the co-leader in victories (10) with Dwyane Wade.
11. Other Christmas Day career leaders include Bill Russell for rebounds (176); Oscar Robertson for assists (145); Shaquille O’Neal for blocked shots (25); Russell Westbrook for steals (29) and James Harden for three-pointers made (31).
12. Bernard King scored a Christmas Day-record 60 points for the Knicks against the New Jersey Nets in 1984.
13. Other Christmas Day single-game leaders include Wilt Chamberlain for rebounds (36 in 1961); Guy Rodgers and Nate “Tiny” Archibald for assists (18 in 1966 and 1972, respectively); DeAndre Jordan for blocked shots (eight in 2011); Kyrie Irving for steals (seven in 2016); and Patty Mills for three-pointers made (eight in 2021).
14. Tracy McGrady has the highest career scoring average on Christmas Day at 43.3 points per game. He scored at least 40 points in each of his three games.
15. Miami has the highest winning percentage among active teams on Christmas Day at .846 (11-2 record), which includes its current eight-game winning streak. The Heat are unbeaten on Christmas Day under current head coach Erik Spoelstra (8-0).
16. Nine players have recorded a triple-double on Christmas Day: Oscar Robertson (four), John Havlicek, Billy Cunningham, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook (two), Draymond Green, Kemba Walker, James Harden and Nikola Jokic´.
17. Phil Jackson and Jack Ramsay share the record for most head coaching victories on Christmas Day with 11 each.
18. Joel Embiid has averaged 31.3 points in four games on Christmas Day, the highest mark among active players with two or more games played on Christmas.
19. With a 41-point, 15-rebound, 15-assist performance on Christmas Day last year, Nikola Jokic´ joined Oscar Robertson and James Harden as the only players to have 40/15/15 in a regular-season game.
20. The Lakers have the most team victories on Christmas Day with 24, one more than the Knicks (23).
