1984

In the first major Christmas Day game of the modern era, Bernard King drops 60 points, thrilling the Knicks fans at Madison Square Garden. But New York loses the game 120-114 to the rival Nets, who get 36 points from Micheal Ray Richardson. 60 points set the still-standing Christmas Day record and also broke Richie Guerin’s single game Knicks franchise record, which had stood for 25 years (it was subsequently broken by Carmelo Anthony in 2014).

1947

NBA games are played on Christmas Day for the first time, with a slate of three games highlighted by the Baltimore Bullets defeating the Chicago Stags 87-70.

1984

Chris Richard is born in Lakeland, Florida. When his playing career ended, he returned to his hometown and founded the “Rich Kids Project,” a non-profit aimed at mentoring at-risk youth.

1988

Eric Gordon is born in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is the only player born on December 25 to participate in an NBA Christmas Day game, doing so in 2009 with the Clippers, in 2017 with the Rockets, and in 2023 with the Suns.

2004

Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal face off against each other for the first time in a heavily hyped Christmas Day match-up between the Lakers and Heat, won by the latter in overtime, 104-102.

2008

In a re-match of the previous season’s NBA Finals, Phil Jackson gets his 1,000th career win as a head coach (becoming just the seventh coach to reach the milestone), as his Lakers defeat the Celtics 92-83.

2011

The ’11-’12 NBA season gets underway with the defending champion Mavericks raising their banner but then losing in an NBA Finals re-match against the Heat. Originally scheduled to begin on November 1, the season was delayed and shortened due to a lockout. Five games in total are playing on the opening day, setting a precedent of a yearly Christmas Day quintuple header (only three games were played on Christmas in prior seasons).