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 each year. Unlike the National Football League (NFL)'s traditional Thanksgiving Day games, the NBA's Christmas Day games have no fixed hosts; rather, they feature some of the best teams and players.

History

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.

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 including the current NBA champions since 1995. 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 58 total. They are 26-32 on the holiday. Their most recent Yuletide appearance came in 2025 when they defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers, 126-124, at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks have a checkered history on the 25th. Their 26 wins are the most by a team on Christmas Day, but their 32 losses are also the most.

Conversely, the Charlotte Hornets are the only team to have never played on Christmas Day, dating back to the franchise's foundation in 1988 and including their second incarnation as the Charlotte Bobcats from 2004 onward.

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.

Some players have participated on Christmas Day as both player and coach. Doc Rivers played with the Knicks in 1992 and coached the Celtics from 2008 to 2013. Phil Jackson, who also participated as a player and coach, has been a part of at least 20 holiday games, coaching on Christmas every year from 1990, with the exception of 1995 and 2004, until his retirement at the end of the 2010–11 season. He won his 1,000th game on Christmas Day in 2008. LeBron James currently holds the record for the most games played on Christmas Day, with 20 games.

Many teams and players that have played on this day have worn special uniforms and sneakers. From 2009 to 2011, the Knicks wore their third jersey, the green/orange alternate which they first used exclusively for St. Patrick's Day. During the game between the Heat and the Lakers in 2010, players on both teams wore holiday sneakers. Bryant, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom wore lime-green Nike sneakers while James and Chris Bosh wore holiday-red shoes with green laces. From 2008 to 2011, teams playing on Christmas Day wore a patch featuring the NBA logo inside a snowflake. Between 2012 and 2016, the NBA and Adidas produced special uniforms for the Christmas games. All of these uniforms feature a particular theme, such as monochromatic designs ('Big Color') and chrome-treated logos ('Big Logo'). In 2015 and 2016, Stance provided Christmas-themed socks for the games.

After Nike became the uniform provider in 2017, no Christmas-themed uniforms were produced. Instead, NBA teams playing on that day wore either "City" or "Statement" alternate uniforms. During the 2018–19 season, a few teams wore a fifth alternate known as "Earned" uniforms; these were given as a reward for making the 2018 NBA playoffs. In 2023, the snowflake patch returned to the back of the NBA uniforms; however, with the exception of the Miami Heat who wore their "Statement" red uniform, teams playing on that day wore either the primary "Association" or "Icon" uniforms. That trend continued in 2024, except no team wore alternate uniforms on that day. In 2025, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Dallas Mavericks wore their "Classic" edition uniforms, while the Denver Nuggets wore their "City" uniform.

The Miami Heat have the best highest Christmas Day win percentage.

Memorable moments

The NBA Christmas Day contests have featured some of the most memorable games ever played. Bernard King scored 60 points for the New York Knicks in 1984. Patrick Ewing helped the Knicks come back to beat the Celtics after trailing by 25 points in 1985. He then beat Michael Jordan and the Bulls on a last-second jumper in 1986. Scottie Pippen performed a last-second block in 1994.

The first showdown featuring Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal as opponents occurred on Christmas in 2004. 2009 and 2010 featured faceoffs between LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. Phil Jackson becoming the fastest coach to win 1,000 games (it happened on December 25, 2008). In 2021, LeBron James became the all-time Christmas Day scorer with 422 points, surpassing Kobe Bryant, who scored 383 points.

As a result of a lockout in 2011, Christmas Day was also the season opener. ESPN/ABC analyst Jeff Van Gundy talked about that day, saying, "It's a different opening day than has ever happened in the past and Christmas Day games have always been a big day for the NBA. This unique situation combined with the unveiling of a championship banner for the Mavericks in a finals rematch, and then to see the Lakers and the debut of Mike Brown as head coach, those things are all going to be very compelling."

Rivalries have also been showcased during games played on this day. During the 1990s, every Christmas but one featured a game involving either the New York Knicks or the Chicago Bulls, with the two teams playing against each other twice (in the Bulls championship season of 1992–93 and in 1994). They would have met a third time in 1998, if there had not been a lockout. The only year during the 1990s in which neither team played on Christmas Day was during the Bulls first championship season in their second three-peat, in 1995–96. During the 2000s, the NBA showcased the Shaq–Kobe feud. Since 1999, each Christmas has featured games involving either the Celtics or the Lakers, with both teams playing on the holiday in 2002 and every year since 2008. In a great pairing, the two teams faced off against each in other during the first of the Lakers' most recent back-to-back championship seasons of 2008–09. This was the first meeting between the two teams since the finals of the year before.

The home team is 142–75 in Christmas games. The winning percentage of .654 for the home team on Christmas Day is better than the overall winning percentage for home teams during the regular season or the playoffs since 1992.

Broadcasting

The first telecast of an NBA game on Christmas Day dates back to the league's early years. In 1947, the Providence Steamrollers played in New York against the Knicks on WCBS channel 2 at 9 p.m. Eastern Time. Stan Lomax and Bob Edge called that game. Fifteen minutes later, at 8:15 p.m. Central Time, Joe Wilson broadcast the game between Baltimore Bullets and Chicago Stags for WBKB channel 4 in Chicago.

The first nationally televised Christmas Day NBA broadcast occurred in 1967, when ABC broadcast a game between the Los Angeles Lakers and San Diego Rockets from San Diego. Jerry Gross and Jack Twyman called that broadcast for ABC. ABC would continue to televise Christmas Day games through 1972. Chris Schenkel did play-by-play for ABC during this period with the exception of 1970, when Keith Jackson had the honors. Jack Twyman remained in the color commentating position up until 1971, when Bill Russell took over. From 1975-1989 (with the exception of 1982), CBS broadcast a game on Christmas Day.

However, it was not until 1983 that the games became a household tradition, when CBS broadcast the game between the New Jersey Nets and the New York Knicks and ESPN broadcast the game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers (Sam Smith and Dick Vitale were on the call for ESPN). In the 1990s, NBC broadcast a doubleheader each year on Christmas Day (except in 1998, when there were no games played on Christmas Day due to the 1998–99 NBA lockout) and this has continued after ABC took over in 2002, except that in 2004 and 2006, ABC broadcast only one game. For three years (2004–2006), ABC insisted on having a Christmas Day game between the Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Lakers so that Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal could play against each other. Since ABC took over the NBA, ESPN has also broadcast games on Christmas Day (except in 2006). Since 2009, Christmas Day broadcasts on ESPN and ABC have featured a music video with Mariah Carey singing "All I Want for Christmas Is You." In 2010, Carey added "Oh Santa!"

In 2008, TNT broadcast on Christmas Day for the first time as Marv Albert and Mike Fratello called the game between Washington and Cleveland at Quicken Loans Arena and Kevin Harlan and Reggie Miller called the game between Dallas and Portland at the Rose Garden. This marked the first time that all three networks that cover the NBA (ABC, ESPN, and TNT) produced games on Christmas Day. As Christmas Day fell on a Thursday that year, TNT was given two primetime games as part of their regular TNT NBA Thursday slate (the same scenario also took place in 2014).

Due to the 2011 NBA lockout, the season opener took place on Christmas Day that year. As a result, the NBA gave TNT the first game of the Christmas slate with a contest between the Celtics and Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Calling the game were Marv Albert (himself a former Knicks broadcaster) and Steve Kerr. Because of this, Albert, who was also working for CBS's NFL coverage, was forced to miss his scheduled Week 16 game the day before. Also on that day, ABC broadcast the Dallas Mavericks' 2011 Championship banner ceremony during their pre-game show. This marked the first time in NBA history that a pre-game championship banner ceremony has been aired on a terrestrial television network; either Turner Sports or a regional sports network aired the ceremonies in previous years.

In a unique situation in 2017, ABC aired an NBA tripleheader for the first time ever, which was headlined by a 2017 NBA Finals rematch between LeBron James and the Cavaliers and Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and the Warriors, which would be the prelude to the 2018 Finals rematch, which resulted in a Warriors sweep. Because ESPN aired Monday Night Football on Christmas night, they only aired one game, which was at 12 ET. TNT aired the 10:30 pm game, TNT's first Christmas Day game since 2014. The game was called by the Inside the NBA crew of Ernie Johnson Jr., Shaquille O'Neal, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley, marking the first time the Inside the NBA crew called an NBA altogether. This ended up also being the last Christmas Day game broadcast by TNT, as they ended their broadcast of NBA games after the 2025 NBA playoffs. Since 2018, at least one Christmas Day game has been simulcast on both ESPN and ABC.

For 2022, ABC was originally scheduled to air a tripleheader. However, in October 2022, ESPN announced that all five of its Christmas Day games would be simulcast across both ABC and ESPN, likely as an attempt to counterprogram the NFL's scheduling of a Christmas Day tripleheader across CBS, Fox, and NBC. With network programming spanning throughout most of the day, beginning with Good Morning America Weekend (starting at 7:00 am local time) and the Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade (airing across the country at 10:00 am ET), and then NBA coverage stretching from the first tripleheader game (Philadelphia–New York) at noon ET, which also featured an alternate broadcast on ESPN2 hosted by Stephen A. Smith, and was simulcast on ESPN+, to the conclusion of the last game (Phoenix–Denver) after 1:45 am ET early on December 26 (the game went to overtime), some ABC affiliates gave their local news department employees the entire day off.

With Christmas Day falling on a Monday in 2023, the NFL also scheduled a Monday Night Football on that day. Because ABC/ESPN holds the broadcast rights to both NBA Christmas games and Monday Night Football, it was decided that ESPN would again air all five NBA games (ESPN+ would also stream all five games for the first time ever), but ABC would only simulcast two of them (Golden State–Denver at 2:30 pm ET, followed by Boston–LA Lakers at 5 pm ET) in favor of exclusively airing the Monday Night Football game (which was also streamed on ESPN+). This marked the first time since 2016 that ABC televised fewer than three NBA Christmas games. ESPN also simulcast all games on ESPN+ and aired an alternate broadcast for the first game (Milwaukee-New York Knicks at noon ET), hosted by WNBA legends Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, on ESPN2.

For 2024, it was originally announced that only the middle three of the five Christmas games were going to be ABC/ESPN simulcasts, and the first and last games were only to be televised on ESPN. However, in October 2024, it was announced that all five games will be ABC/ESPN simulcasts like in 2022, in a similar manner of counterprogramming the Netflix-exclusive NFL games. In November 2024, it was further announced that ESPN2, ESPN+, and Disney+ would show an alternate broadcast of the first game, San Antonio Spurs–New York Knicks, titled "Dunk the Halls" that will use Hawk-Eye and other Sony-owned technology to render a live animated version of the contest portrayed by Mickey Mouse universe characters. This marked the first real-time animated NBA game and the first to be streamed on Disney+ in the United States.

In 2025, it was announced that all five Christmas Day games will once again be broadcast on both ABC and ESPN likely to go against an NFL Tripleheader on streaming services Netflix and Prime Video. Inside the NBA would also serve as the studio show for ABC and ESPN's Christmas slate, this following a sublicensing deal between Warner Bros. Discovery (TNT's parent company) and The Walt Disney Company (ESPN and ABC's parent company) that would allow the show to continue airing on various marquee games on ESPN and ABC. Also in 2025, the NBA announced that the "Dunk the Halls" alternate broadcast would return for the first game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the New York Knicks; this time it will also air on Disney Channel and Disney XD.

Game results

Christmas Day standings

Of current NBA teams.

Most frequent match-ups among active teams

Reception

Praise

Several fans, players, coaches, and members of the news media support the tradition of Christmas games. For players and coaches, the standard public statement is that a Christmas game is an honor, as it is not only a chance to play on national television, but also a reward for having a great team and great players.

Before the game between the Celtics and Magic at Amway Arena in 2009, personnel on both sides referred to playing on Christmas as a reward. Celtics head coach Doc Rivers said that like most of the players, he always watched Christmas Day games growing up. He said, "As a kid, you wanted to be on Christmas...I tend to look at it as a reward." In 2010, added that it was an "honor" to be part of the marquee games, saying, "I look at it as a privilege. The fact that they asked us to play on Christmas means we're one of the good teams, one of the featured teams." Magic center Dwight Howard said that he didn't "see a challenge. We're playing basketball on Christmas. We couldn't help it. If you play on a pretty good team and if you have to play on Christmas, so be it. I enjoy it. I'd rather be playing on Christmas than sitting at home wishing I was playing on Christmas. I like it. I think it's fun."

Lamar Odom called it "a tremendous privilege to be able to entertain the world...playing on TV in those games." In 2010, Knicks head coach Mike D'Antoni said that players should be "very fortunate" to be playing on Christmas Day and that "it helps the league, and...it helps other people on Christmas or on the holidays."

Doug White, an ESPN executive, said that Christmas is "Thanksgiving on the NBA side. Obviously, Christmas Day is a day when everybody is home, everybody is relaxing, and what better way to serve them than with as many games as we possibly can...We try to put on the best games possible that people have interest in." Jermaine O'Neal on the Celtics agreed, saying, "It's special because the whole world is watching. It's Christmas, it's a special day, with everybody together to spend time with each other, as far as family and friends. We have the opportunity to do that, bringing our families down with us. It makes it that much more special—the opportunity to play in front of the rest of the world and be together at Christmas with our family."

During broadcasts of NBA games, commentators and the news media have agreed with White and said that the nature of the games played has made Christmas Day the best day of an NBA regular season. They serve as a preview of a potential series in the playoffs, and perhaps, the finals.

Criticism

In recent years, players and coaches have complained about playing on Christmas Day, saying that takes time away from families. In 2009, Orlando Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy requested that the NBA do not schedule any more games on Christmas Day, saying "I actually feel sorry for people who have nothing to do on Christmas Day other than watch an NBA game" and said that the day is best spent with family. The Magic coach was fined for his comments.

In 2010, there were complaints from both sides before the game between the Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Lakers in Los Angeles. Lakers head coach Phil Jackson, son of two Christian ministers and author of a book on spiritual growth related to basketball, said, "I don't think anybody should play on Christmas Day" and "it's like Christian holidays don't mean...anything any more." From the Heat, LeBron James said, "if you ask any player in the league, we'd rather be home with our families...It's not just a regular holiday. It's...one of those days that you wish you could wake up in the morning with the kids and open up presents."

Others have managed to voice some discontent while still accepting the Christmas game tradition. Before the game between the Bulls and the Knicks in New York, head coach Mike D'Antoni said, "I can adjust a little bit. I can open my presents up at 7 o'clock at night instead of 7 o'clock in the morning." Raymond Felton said, "you'd rather be with your family. We're still going to celebrate." He, like many players, said that he was fortunate to have played with his family in attendance. Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau said, "I think it's an honor and a privilege to be playing. I know it's tough on the away team, particularly the players who have kids. But that's all part of it." Derrick Rose said, "I'm going to miss my family, and I hate being away from home. But this is my job and it's an honor to be playing on Christmas."

In 2004, the NBA was erroneously criticized for scheduling a game between the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers as the first matchup since their brawl that the two teams had faced each other. The regular season, and the game, was scheduled well before the brawl took place, and was played with a higher-than-normal security presence and fan restrictions to prevent a repeat occurrence. The other game scheduled that day drew similar criticism. The game between the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center marked the first time since the Lakers traded Shaquille O'Neal to the Heat that the two teams were facing each other and the first time that Shaq and Kobe Bryant would be facing each other as opponents.

The NBA does not schedule games on Christmas Eve, December 24, to allow players and coaches who have to play on Christmas Day to be with their families. Families of players and coaches who participate in Christmas games typically attend the games.

Television ratings

The NBA's Christmas games have garnered some of the highest ratings for any televised regular season NBA game. The television ratings for the biggest Christmas games are often higher than any NBA game outside of the NBA Finals, and for many U.S. sports fans, Christmas serves as an unofficial "start" to the NBA season; the usual start of the NBA season occurs under relatively little fanfare compared to the NFL or MLB, as those leagues are at the most consequential points of their seasons.

However, ratings for the NBA's Christmas games usually pale in comparison to the NFL whenever the league plays games on Christmas Day. Beginning in 2020, the NFL scheduled Christmas Day games annually as opposed to previous years when the league only scheduled games on Christmas whenever it falls on a weekend; the league has since signed a deal with Netflix to stream non-weekend Christmas games. This resulted in further ratings decline for the NBA during the holiday. For instance, in 2023, the NBA suffered a record-low average of 1.3 rating and 2.85 million viewership for all of its Christmas Day games whereas the NFL games averaged 27 million viewers.

Notes

Bibliography

• Eisenberg, Jeff (December 24, 2009). "Christmas Tradition". The Riverside (Ca.) Press-Enterprise. p. B1.