NBA
Why does the NBA play on Christmas Day?
The NBA continues to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year with exciting matches on Christmas Day.
Since 1947, the NBA has been playing Christmas games. The first match-up was held at the famous Madison Square Garden when the New York Knicks overcame the Providence Steamrollers 89-75.
Since then, basketball fans have been able to enjoy the best players and teams battling it out in the jolly season - geographical distance being considered in the earlier days and television ratings having a much bigger say in recent decades.
This year’s holiday action will mark the 77th edition of the league on Christmas Day.
There will be five games featured on Wednesday, Dec. 25th for the 17th year in a row. The Knicks host the Spurs to begin the festivities, the 57th time the New Yorkers will play on the big day. That’s followed by the Timberwolves visiting the Mavericks in a huge clash, and the Celtics hosting the 76ers. The penultimate match-up sees the Lakers visit the Golden State Warriors in a clash of giants, while the Suns face the Nuggets to close out the night of festive fun.
Christmas 2024 schedule:
- San Antonio Spurs - New York Knicks, 12 p.m. ET
- Minnesota Timberwolves - Dallas Mavericks, 2:30 p.m. ET
- Philadelphia 76ers - Boston Celtics, 5 p.m. ET
- Los Angeles Lakers - Golden State Warriors, 8 p.m. ET
- Denver Nuggets at Phoenix Suns, 10:30 p.m. ET
Despite the 1947-2024 tradition going strong, there was one year that saw no action happen. No, that wasn’t due to a recent pandemic but instead was because of a lockout that saw half the 1998/99 season canceled, including Dec. 25.
Do NFL, MLB, or NHL play on Christmas Day?
MLB is in its off-season so there are no mitts required when festive stockings are out, while the National Hockey League schedules a three-day Christmas break (since 1971) in which no regular season games are played on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
NFL is slightly less clear-cut and it has often depended on whether the 25th falls on a weekend. However, 2024 will be the fifth year in a row in which there are games on Christmas Day, which is on Monday.
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