With the holiday season here, sports fans are gearing up for some great winter basketball action. To celebrate, here are my picks for the three most memorable NBA Christmas Day games of the past decade.

2024: Spurs vs Knicks

There are not many things in the NBA more prestigious than playing a game in Madison Square Garden, especially in the holiday season. Knowing this, it felt like everyone was watching the San Antonio Spurs as Victor Wembanyama was set to make his Christmas Day debut against the New York Knicks. 

Since he was drafted, the 7’4” Frenchman has been one of the most hyped up prospects in NBA history. To show up big in “The World’s Most Famous Arena” is no easy task, but for the Spurs, that’s something they wanted to prove.

For the most part, it was expected that the Knicks would dominate at home, but the Spurs turned into a great back-and-forth contest. For New York, their star Jalen Brunson led the way early, scoring 20 points and dishing out 9 assists for the afternoon. But San Antonio stayed in the fight thanks to a surprise 21 points from Jeremy Sochan. 

As the game progressed, it was clear these teams were evenly matched, but to win, a big game was needed to settle the score. With all the pressure in the world to show up, Wembanyama would have a monster game, scoring 42 points to go with 18 rebounds, the third most ever scored on a Christmas Day debut. 

Now up 102-97 with six minutes remaining in the 4th quarter, it seemed that nothing the Knicks could do would be able to stop Wembanyama and the Spurs. But fortunately for New York, Mikal Bridges would save them with a difficult series of clutch pull-up jumpers. Along with the dagger to put the game away, his 41 points would seal the 114-117 victory for the Knicks over the Spurs in a winter thriller. 

2021: Celtics vs Bucks

The whole world was still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, and basketball was no different. In 2020, at the peak of the pandemic, the NBA would temporarily relocate to the “Bubble” at Walt Disney World for one of the weirdest seasons ever. 

Now, for the first time since the shutdown, the league was finally returning to normalcy, and this game between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics helped revitalise the energy and spirit that basketball had been missing for the last couple of years with a nail-biting holiday contest. 

For the Celtics, they started this game blazing hot, as they marched out to a comfortable 19-point lead early into the 2nd quarter. Jaylen Brown led the way for Boston with 25 points from the field. By halftime, it looked like this game would turn into a quick romp, but the Bucks fended them off in the second half as stars Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday both scored 17 points apiece to keep the game close. 

With a little less than half of the 4th quarter remaining, the Bucks would still trail the Celtics 109-96. But then Giannis Antetokounmpo would take full control of the game, dominating the boards and paint alike, recording 36 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 assists to bring Milwaukee within one point of the lead. 

Sensing the lead slowly slipping away, Jayson Tatum would respond with 25 points and rebounds as Boston attempted to stand their ground. But in the final seconds of the game, Wesley Matthews would hit a clutch 3-pointer to take a 113-114 advantage, their first lead of the entire game. 

A few moments later, Antetokounmpo made an incredible defensive play, rejecting a crucial dunk that put the Celtics back into the game. Ultimately, the Bucks completed the comeback, winning 113-117 in a great holiday comeback over the Celtics. 

2016: Warriors vs Cavaliers: The Greatest Christmas Day NBA Game

The basketball world was still buzzing from the legendary seven-game series in the 2016 NBA Finals when fans witnessed what could be the greatest Christmas Day game in NBA history.

The last time they met, the Golden State Warriors were leading 3-1 in the Finals after storming through the league with a historical 73-9 season. But as history would have it, the Cleveland Cavaliers would claw their way back and cement themselves as NBA Champions. 

Now, for the first time since June, these two teams were set to face off again in a holiday matchup that instantly became the season’s most anticipated game. 

From the opening tip, it was clear that this was going to be a great game, with stars from both teams exchanging buckets on both sides of the court. Although the game remained close for most of the night, the Warriors would pull away in the 4th quarter with a 14 point lead, thanks to Kevin Durant and his 35 points and 15 rebounds. 

Luckily for Cleveland, LeBron James would keep his team in the game as he fought back with 31 points and 13 rebounds of his own, bringing the Cavs within striking distance. With less than two minutes remaining in the game, James would throw down an emphatic and-one dunk to give the Cavs a 103-105 lead. 

Now trailing, Golden State needed an answer. A few moments later, despite having a silent night, going 4-11 from the field, Stephen Curry would come back with a huge 3-pointer from beyond the arc to give himself 15 points, and the go ahead bucket for his team, leading 108-105. Now with a slight edge over the Cavs, it looked like the Warriors were going to walk out on Christmas Day with a victory. 

But in the chaotic final moments of the game, Kyrie Irving would take over the game as he would make a series of ridiculous layups to bring the score close. Now in the clutch, he would deliver once again with late-game heroics as he would drain a contested spinning fadeaway over Klay Thompson to give the Cavs a 108-109 lead over the Warriors. He would finish the game with 25 points and 10 assists. 

On the very next play, Durant would trip on the inbounds pass and miss the game-winner, giving the Cavaliers the win over the Warriors in an all-time classic. 

With winter break just around the corner, take time to enjoy the holiday season with friends and family. Embrace the cold winter weather, enjoy the festivities, and of course, make sure to catch the exciting NBA action this Christmas!