Jalen Williams’ plan for Thursday went like this: giveaway in the morning, then a game in the afternoon.
For him, this sounds like an extraordinary Christmas.
Williams and the NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder – who felt snubbed by Christmas schedule makers a year ago – are on the league’s exhibition slate this year, as they will face the San Antonio Spurs as part of the annual five-a-side game on December 25.
The schedule begins, with all central times: Cleveland Cavaliers at New York Knicks at 11 a.m., followed by the Spurs at Thunder at 1:30 p.m., Dallas Mavericks at Golden State Warriors at 4 p.m., Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Lakers at 7 p.m., and Minnesota Timberwolves at Denver Nuggets at 9:30 p.m.
“As a basketball player, I feel like you grow up — in fact, if you’re a sports fan, you grow up watching sports at Christmas. To be able to be a part of it is really cool,” Williams said. “What time do we play, 1:30 (center)? Yeah, we’re like great game. Like 1:30, presents are already opened and everyone’s watching the games. I’m really looking forward to it.”
For most of the Thunder, this will be a first: the only current players to score in the Christmas game are Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso. This will be the second Christmas game for the Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama, who in his holiday debut last year posted a 42-point, 18-rebound performance against the Knicks.
“It’s a great day for the NBA and the players are excited to play this slate of games,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “It’s one of 82 games at the end of the day, but it’s high conditions because of the interest in the game and the hype around it. These are good experiences for any team and certainly for us.”
The Thunder are the best team in the NBA 26-4 – 26-2 against every team except the Spurs. The Spurs beat the Thunder 130-110 on Tuesday after defeating the Thunder in the NBA Cup semifinals earlier this month.
“They will probably be more cooped up than ever,” Wembanyama said of the impending Christmas gathering.
For LeBron James, it wouldn’t be the first time: If he plays the Lakers on Thursday, it will be his 20th Christmas game. This means that over 17 current franchises have played in its existence.
“I’d rather be home with my family,” James said. “But it’s a game, it’s a game that I love, it’s a game that I watched as a kid on Christmas Day, and I watched a lot of the greatest players play the game on Christmas. It’s always been an honor to play it. I’ll be completely honest: I’d love to be home on the couch with my family all day, but my number gets called, our number gets called, so we have to go out and perform.”
LeBron on Christmas
James playing in his 20th Christmas game means the record book will need to be updated again when this holiday slate is complete.
He’s already the all-time Christmas leader in games played, with points (507), wins (11), field goals made (180) and 3-pointers made (31, tied with James Harden).
Next: assists, steals and free throws. James is second in Christmas assists with 137, eight behind Oscar Robertson. He also ranks second in free throws made with 28, two behind Russell Westbrook, and second in free throws made with 116 – nine behind Robertson.
James ranks sixth in Christmas rebounds with 143 points, one behind No. 5 Dolph Schayes, nine behind No. 4 Wilt Chamberlain and 12 behind No. 3 Shaquille O’Neal. (No. 1 Bill Russell, with 176, and No. 2 Wes Unseld, with 163, may be safe from James this year.)
More about 3S
While James and Harden are tied at the top of the 3-pointer list, some other familiar names could rise with big efforts on Thursday.
The Mavericks’ Klay Thompson enters the day No. 3 on the list with 27 Christmas 3-pointers, one ahead of the Warriors’ Stephen Curry and the Rockets’ Kevin Durant.
Still waiting
The wait for Christmas continues for some teams.
The Sacramento Kings haven’t played on Dec. 25 since 2003, and the Indiana Pacers — who would have gotten the nod this year if Tyrese Haliburton hadn’t been injured in Game 7 of the NBA Finals — haven’t made the Christmas roster since 2004 and the Detroit Pistons haven’t made it since 2005.
To put that in context, it’s worth noting that Seattle — which hasn’t had a team in nearly two decades — played its last game on Christmas in 2007, or sooner than the Kings, Pacers and Pistons did.
The Orlando Magic haven’t played on Christmas since 2011, and the Chicago Bulls haven’t played since 2016. Meanwhile, the Boston Celtics’ nine-year streak of no appearances on Christmas comes to an end this year.
Can the Chicago Bulls continue to outscore their opponents, or is their defense on the hot seat once again?
On the other end of the spectrum, the Lakers are playing on Christmas for the 27th straight year, while the Warriors are playing for the 13th straight season.
“I’m excited for another big game on Christmas Day,” Curry said Monday after the Warriors won their second straight to take a 15-15 lead and enter the holiday with some momentum. “Feelings are good now.”
Hello kid
Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg – who turns 19 this week – is set to make his debut at Christmas.
If Flagg plays, he will be the fourth-youngest player to appear in a Christmas game. Kobe Bryant, Bill Willoughby and James were 18 in their first Christmas contest.
KD Christmas Trips
Durant is scheduled to play Christmas with the fifth team (and sixth jersey), making his holiday routes one of the most traveled in league history.
Durant also played on Christmas for Seattle and the Thunder, then the Warriors, then the Brooklyn Nets, then the Phoenix Suns, and on Thursday, the Rockets — the team he joined last summer — were added to the list.
O’Neal (Magic, Lakers, Miami Heat, Suns, Cavs and Celtics) played on Christmas for six teams. Among those who played in the offseason with five franchises: Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony.
Much of the West
Of the ten teams playing this Christmas, eight come from the Western Province.
This is the most by a single conference on Christmas since 1978, when the Eastern Conference saw eight of its 11 teams choose to play on the holiday.
The last time the East played more teams on Christmas than the West was in 2004. Since then, including this year, the holiday schedule has seen an even split between the East and West 10 times, and the West has seen more teams pick the holiday slate on 11 occasions.
NBA Christmas schedule
All games on ABC-7 and ESPN
- Cavaliers at Knicks, 11 a.m
- Spurs vs. Thunder, 1:30 p.m
- Mavericks Warriors, 4 p.m
- Rockets at Lakers, 7 p.m
- Timberwolves at Nuggets, 9:30 p.m