It’s the most wonderful time of the year! It’s the holiday season, and that means only one thing: NBA Christmas Day basketball. Historically, it’s the premier day of the NBA and where the highest drama-filled match-ups occur. We all have our lists of favorite Christmas Day moments, and in the spirit of the holidays and communing here are my favorite NBA Christmas Day games.
5. Cavaliers v. Lakers 2009
This game is an interesting one. It’s the first Christmas Day game in which LeBron James and Kobe Bryant would match up. What’s glaring here is that this was also the era in which the NBA dearly wanted Bryant and James to end up in the NBA finals, but it never happened.
On a much more subdued note, this is also the fourth meeting between Bryant and O’Neal on Christmas Day.
At this point in history, both Bryant and O’Neal have won championships without one another. So, this time around, the mood is a bit more bit more kumbaya.
James’ Cavs beat the Lakers ultimately at 102-87, but what an array of talent at different stages of their careers.
4. Celtics v. Lakers 2008
There’s not much I can say that hasn’t already been said about the Lakers and Celtics rivalry. However, in the late 2000’s this rivalry was rekindled by some of the greatest to ever do it.
The Boston Celtics come into this Christmas Day game as defending NBA champions, having defeated the Lakers the previous season for the title.
We know that this didn’t sit well with L.A.’s Kobe Bryant. This game marks the beginning of his redemption path to help the Lakers reclaim supremacy over their fabled foe.
Lakers win 92-83, and they snap the Celtics’ 19 game winning streak in the process.
3. Celtics v. Knicks 2011
This is the first Christmas Day Game for the Knicks that featured Carmelo Anthony. In a match-up from 2011’s first round playoffs, The Knicks looked to showcase their retooled roster and show the Celtics that they were the superior squad.
The majority of the game was nip and tuck, and resulted in a narrow Knicks win 104-106 with clutch late game free throws by Melo. Just for kicks, a polite Draymond-esque choke by Kevin Garnett on Bill Walker to cap the night’s festivities.
2. Warriors v. Cavaliers 2016
The Cavaliers go into this game as defending NBA champions after overcoming a 3-1 deficit to the Warriors in the previous NBA Finals. This is the second game in a trilogy of Christmas Day games between the Warriors and the Cavaliers. It’s also the second of four consecutive meetings on Christmas Day between James and Steph Curry.
What was special about this game is that after the Warriors’ 2016 NBA finals loss to the Cavs, they signed Kevin Durant. So in this first meeting with a Durant-led Warriors squad, the world wanted to know if the Cavs could measure up.
On this first occasion, Cavs take it 109-108.
1. Heat v. Lakers 2004
It was this game that truly made Christmas Day NBA games become must-see TV. With all that had gone down up until this point, we finally got the first head-to-head showdown between Bryant and O’Neal.
After being traded to the Miami Heat, O’Neal was on a mission to prove to the Lakers’ brass that they made the wrong decision. The eyes of the sports world were on any interactions between O’Neal and Bryant, and the next chapter in their story would begin to be written on this day.
In overtime, The Heat narrowly defeated the Lakers in this first meeting 104-102.
