Skip to main content

6 Best Christmas Performers in NBA History

By
Christmas is one of the best days of the year for an NBA fan. Not only are there games on national television, but we get to see some of the league's best players and teams (and for some reason, the Lakers.) With Christmas right around the corner, I thought I'd take a look at some of the best players who made Christmas their day. With that in mind, here are the 6 best Christmas performers in NBA history.

Oscar Robertson

Few were as good as Oscar Robertson was during the 60s in the NBA. The 1963-64 season's MVP was the first player to ever average a triple-double for a while season and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1980. On Christmas, Robertson had no trouble playing like the Hall of Famer he was. In his nine Christmas Day games, Robertson averaged 30 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 6.4 assists per game while shooting 46% from the field and 93% from the free throw line. Robertson had three separate occasions where he scored 38 points on Christmas Day and shot perfect from the field in two of those games.

Scottie Pippen

While he might always be remembered as the Robin to Michael Jordan's Batman, Scottie Pippen was still a fantastic player throughout his career. The Hall of Famer played a huge part in the Chicago Bulls' six championship victories while also earning himself seven All-Star selections. On Christmas, he was one of the absolute best. Pippen played in seven Christmas Day games during his career and averaged 22.9 points, 8.9 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 3.4 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting 47% from the field and 39% from three-point range. Pippen's best Christmas game came in 1994 when the Bulls beat the New York Knicks in overtime behind Pippen's 36 points, 16 rebounds, 5 steals, and 2 blocks.

Patrick Ewing

While he was never able to grab an NBA Championship win during his 17-year career, Patrick Ewing's legacy has been cemented through his fantastic play. The former #1 overall pick created a reputation for himself as one of the best big men to play the game, earing 11 All-Star selections during his career and a Hall of Fame induction in 2008. On Christmas Day, few were as good as Ewing was. In the six games he played on Christmas Day during his career, Ewing averaged 24.7 points, 12.3 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.8 blocks per game while shooting 49% from the field. Ewing's best Christmas performance came in 1985 when Ewing's Knicks beat the Boston Celtics in double overtime, with Ewing putting up 32 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 steals.

LeBron James

While the debate heats up about where he stands among the best players of all time, it's pretty clear that LeBron James is arguably the best player in the NBA today and among the top five players of all time. James is only 32-years old right now, but he has already created a legacy that is hard to match, as he is a four-time MVP, 13-time All-Star, and a 3-time NBA Champion. And on Christmas, the King made it a day to celebrate for his teams and his fans, as he tore it up every time he stepped on the court on December 25th. In the 11 games James has played on Christmas so far, he has averaged 27.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 6.9 assists, and 1.7 steals while shooting 51% from the field and 32% from three-point range. LeBron's best Christmas Day game came in 2011, when James and the Miami Heat beat the Dallas Mavericks behind his 37 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.

Michael Jordan

The G.O.A.T took no days off. Christmas was no exception. The undisputed greatest player to ever play the game, Michael Jordan was unstoppable, a trait backed up by his five MVP awards, 14 All-Star selections, 6 NBA Championship wins, 6 Finals MVP awards, and finally, his induction into the Hall of Fame in 2009. And as I said, Jordan did not give anything less than 100% on Christmas Day. In Jordan's six Christmas games, he averaged 28.3 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2.8 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 44% from the field. Jordan's best game on Christmas came in 1992 when the Bulls beat the Knicks behind Jordan's 42 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals.

Kevin Durant

Whether you see him as a smart player who saw an opportunity and took it or as a snake who took the easy route to an NBA Championship, few can deny that Kevin Durant is one of the best players in the NBA today. At 29-years old, Durant has already racked up a career's worth of accomplishments, including four scoring titles, eight All-Star selections, an MVP award and a NBA Championship title to boot. On Christmas, however, Durant has become one of the best performers of all-time. In the seven games Durant has played on Christmas Day so far, Durant averaged 32 points, 8 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 54% from the field and 41% from three-point range.  In 2010, Durant had one of the best Christmas Day performances of all-time when he led the Oklahoma City Thunder to a win over the Denver Nuggets, putting up 44 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks to get the win.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Best Undrafted NBA Player From Each Year Since 2000

By
Most of us have probably felt the disappointment of not being picked for a sports team in high school. Now imagine that, only the selection process is on national television, all your friends & family are with you waiting for a call that's never coming, and you have to watch as everyone else in the pool is picked over you, and that's probably how it feels to go undrafted. Every year, hundreds of college athletes declare for the draft with the hopes of going pro in their sport of choice. However, with a limited number of draft selections available, not all of them will make the cut and find themselves on a team by the end of the draft. The NBA is no stranger to this, as with only 60 picks in each draft, plenty of prospects go undrafted each year. That's not to say that someone's NBA dreams are dead if they don't get picked, as plenty of undrafted players from various draft classes end up making it to the NBA, with some even having lengthy, successful careers for ...
Post a Comment
Read more

SHOCKING! Trail Blazers' Zach Collins Has No Racist Tweets From Past

By
UPDATE: Scratch that. He actually does In wake of the recent scandals involving Major League Baseball players and offensive tweets from their pasts, the basketball world was shocked to discover that Zach Collins of the Portland Trail Blazers did not have any racists posts on his Twitter account from before he was a professional basketball player. As first discovered by Twitter user Xavier Pousey, better known by his Twitter handle @KingCollison4, the former Gonzaga player's Twitter account contained a surprising lack of offensive tweets from his high school days. "He was really just wishing all his friends happy birthday, it wasn't what I was expecting at all," said Pousey when reached for comments by the Basketball Section. "He tweeted about School of Rock not being on Netflix once...that's all I've got." Pousey, a Panda Express employee by day and a Nick Collison fan account administrator by night, initially looked into Collins' Twitter ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Top 10 2008 High School Recruits: 10 Years Later

By
Recently I saw a video by YouTuber KTO where he took a look back at the top 10 high football recruits in 2008  and how their careers turned out. So that gave me an idea to take a look at the top 10 high school basketball recruits from the 2008 ESPN 100 and take a look at where they are now 10 years later. Before I start, here are some the players who didn't crack the top 10 that might surprise you considering who did make it. Reggie Jackson ranked #94. Attended Boston College for three years before being drafted with the 24th pick by the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2011. Currently holds career averages of 12.4 points and 4.4 assists with 43% field goal shooting and 31% three-point shooting. Klay Thompson ranked #53. Attended Washington State for three years before being drafted with the 11th pick by the Golden State Warriors in the 2011 draft. Currently holds career averages of 19.2 points and career shooting percentages of 46% from the field and 42% from three-point r...
Post a Comment
Read more