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| The NBA on Christmas! |
Although all five games will be broadcast nationally in the United States, the Philippines will only have three games shown on TV locally, with the much-anticipated matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors getting the free tv treatment via S+A. However, fans who have NBA League Pass would be able to watch all of these games without a fuss.
Here are some tidbits about the holiday.
- With 395 points, Kobe Bryant is the career NBA scoring leader on Christmas, followed by Oscar Robertson's 377 points and LeBron James' 321 points. Kobe scored those points in sixteen appearances, while James is set to tack on his total in his upcoming 13th appearance, joining Dolph Schayes, Shaquille O'Neal, Earl Monroe, and Dwyane Wade as the only players with that many games in Christmas.
- There are over 250 events linked to the NBA Cares' Season of Giving campaign linked to the ten teams playing on Christmas, all of which aim to brighten the holidays to hundreds of youth and families this year.
- The New York Knicks have been a virtual Christmas Day staple. Their matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks to kick off the action makes it the 53rd year they are part of the slate. Along with the Los Angeles Lakers, they have most number of Christmas Day wins with 22.
- Bernard King is the only player in NBA history to score sixty points on Christmas, pulling it off back in 1984. Two more players would score fifty on the holiday in Wilt Chamberlain (59 in 1961) and Rick Barry (50 in 1966). The high mark in this century for scoring on Christmas belongs to Tracy McGrady, who poured 46 for Orlando back in 2002, while Kevin Durant holds the record for active players with 44 back in 2010.
- With the NBA continuing its international reach, the league has 38 players from outside the United States set to potentially play on Christmas, representing twenty countries. That is magnified by its broadcast reach internationally, as the league broadcasts through its 49 international partners to 215 countries and territories.
- Eric Gordon turns 30 on Christmas. According to basketball-reference, Gordon is one of only seven NBA players born on this day. He and former Florida big man Chris Richard (who turns 34) are the only players from that group who were born after 1955.
- Aside from the Knicks, the Lakers have been sort of traditionally been part of the holiday slate, with their matchup against the Warriors making it their 20th straight year they are playing on Christmas.
- The Christmas Day slate has fourteen NBA All-Stars expected to play. The day also marks the official start of All-Star Voting, which will commence at 12mn Manila time. Since it is presented by Google, voting can be done through searching NBA All-Star vote on Google, as well as via Google Assistant. Fans can vote as well through the NBA website and the NBA app.
- The slate tomorrow features the last five players named as the league's Most Valuable Player. James Harden and Russell Westbrook highlights the matchup between the Houston Rockets and the Oklahoma City Thunder, while James tangles with Durant and Stephen Curry.
- The league is set to end long Christmas Day droughts for a couple of teams. The Bucks last played back in 1977. The Utah Jazz last played in 1997.
- The Portland Trailblazers last played in 2010, but they are looking to improve their 14-3 record on Christmas, which is second-best in the league behind the Miami Heat's 10-2 record.
- Ben Simmons is seeking to join an illustrious group of people that snagged a Christmas triple-double. Draymond Green joined that group last year, with Westbrook (2013) and James (2010), being the only players to do that in this century. Hall of Famers Robertson (four times in the 1960s), John Havlicek (1967) and Billy Cunningham (1970) complete the cast.
- Westbrook can be the all-time steals leader on Christmas if he can force one against the Rockets. He is currently tied with Scottie Pippen with 24 overall.
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