The first NBA game played on December 25 came in 1947, a year after the NBA’s inception, when the New York Knicks beat the Providence Steamrollers in Madison Square Garden 89–75.
Since that time, the NBA has played games each year on Christmas Day except in 1998 (if a lockout canceled half of the 1998–99 year ). By comparison, Major League Baseball is at its off-season during Christmas, the National Football League only schedules Christmas games when Christmas falls on the weekend (and even then only schedules games on Christmas sometimes ) and the National Hockey League’s collective bargaining agreement forbids playing matches on Christmas Day (and, except if it falls on a Saturday, Christmas Eve too ). In college football, the only bowl game traditionally scheduled for Christmas has become the defunct Aloha Bowl (and for one season, its replacement, the Hawaii Bowl). Thus, the NBA is the only league to regularly schedule games on December 25.
From the early days closeness dictated the majority of the matchups. Teams and their competitions would usually perform with to decrease holiday travel and also to let them have additional time with their families. Based on Dr. Jack Ramsay, who coached the Portland Trail Blazers from 1976–77 (their only tournament season) into 1986,”Christmas supposed being at home with the family and using a match we won. That was a great Christmas for me personally.” He set the record for most coaching victories on Christmas Day with 11, an accomplishment that Phil Jackson later matched in 2008.
From the early 1980s, the New York Knicks placed three years. In 1 match (1984), hall-of-fame ahead Bernard King scoring 60 points–the most ever scored by a participant on Christmas Day, With the advent of television and the excitement brought on by these games, the NBA decided to scheduled matches over the holiday which showcased the best teams and players.
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