NBA
Why are there no NBA games tonight, Sunday, 24 December?
13 games were played on 23 December and five will take place on Christmas Day, either side of a day off for all 30 teams.
Unlike many other sports leagues in the United States, including MLS, MLB and NHL, NBA has a full schedule over Christmas, with games having been held on Christmas Day since the league’s second season in 1947. There will be five match-ups on 25 December for the 16th successive year in 2023, with LA Lakers star LeBron James once again in action.
Christmas Eve, however, is a different story. There were no fewer than 13 games played on Saturday, 23 December, with big hitters James and Luka Doncic hogging the headlines with 40 and 39-point hauls as the Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks downed Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs respectively.
Both James and Doncic will be back on court on Christmas Day after enjoying a day off on the 24th, which is afforded to all of the league’s 30 teams. No games are scheduled for the first day since the one-day break between the end of the in-season tournament and the start of the regular season on 10 December.
How many NBA games have been played on Christmas Eve?
Only two NBA games have ever been played on Christmas Eve, with the Boston Celtics defeating the Detroit Pistons in 1960 and the San Francisco Warriors beating the Seattle SuperSonics in 1967. The league has never given an official reason as to why 24 December has been kept free since then, although it is generally assumed it is to give players some time off to be with their families over the festive period, especially as they are often required to play on Christmas Day.
LeBron James: “We’d rather be home with our families”
James will extend his record for NBA games played on 25 December to 18 when he lines up against the Boston Celtics but has previously hit out at matches being scheduled on Christmas Day.
“If you ask any player in the league, we’d rather be home with our families,” James said back in 2010. “I think the people that even set the games up would rather be home with their family during this day. It’s not just a regular holiday. It’s definitely one of those days that you wish you could wake up in the morning with the kids and open up presents.”