Dec 25, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) dribbles against Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (left) during the third quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
NBABy Matt Yoder on

There have been negative vibes around the NBA all season long, which is weird when you consider that the league just cashed in on a huge rights deal with ESPN, NBC, and Amazon that will see the association collect $76 billion over 11 years beginning next season.

And yet, despite the success of Adam Silver negotiating a huge rights increase and all the revenue and long-term security that comes with it, the NBA has been faced with nothing but negativity and criticism this season. It has made Kirk Herbstreit look like Indiana and SMU’s biggest fan comparison.

Teams shoot way too many threes, there aren’t enough varied styles of play, the league is too dependent on LeBron James and Steph Curry, there are no new stars, load management sucks, and nobody cares until April when the playoffs start.

But for one day at least, the NBA was able to send a message to its critics (even within the league itself) that its crisis may be overblown, at least when it comes to the entertainment on offer.

In five games across ESPN and ABC, the NBA could not have asked for much more when it came to the traditional Christmas Day showcase, especially for the first time when the NFL went out of its way to schedule a Wednesday doubleheader on what was the NBA’s one special day on the calendar.

It started with Victor Wembanyama in his Christmas debut going wild with 42 points and 18 rebounds in a scintillating performance at Madison Square Garden. In spite of his heroics, the Knicks held on to beat the Spurs in a game that went down to the final seconds 117-114.

The second game of the quintuple-header between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Dallas Mavericks was hurt by an injury to Luka Doncic and a T’Wolves blowout in the first half. But Kyrie Irving led the Mavs on a furious fourth-quarter comeback that fell just short. Anthony Edwards, who is usually in the top spot in the “next face of the league” conversation did his part too with 26 points in the 105-99 win.

Then it was onto Boston when the Philadelphia 76ers finally stepped up with a big win to defeat the Celtics in another game that went down to the wire after Boston’s comeback in the final minutes was also held off by Philly. Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum, and Jaylen Brown all took turns playing starring roles.

The main event of course once again was LeBron James and Steph Curry playing in primetime. Even though the Lakers and Warriors aren’t near the top of the Western Conference standings, they put on a show once again. Austin Reaves won it with a layup in the final seconds after Steph Curry tied it with a rare double “BANG!” from Mike Breen. Steph had 38, LeBron had 31, and we were left to marvel once again at how in the world they are still able to perform at such a high level after all these years. Has any athlete constantly delivered in the spotlight like those two?

Finally, you had Kevin Durant besting Nikola Jokic in the nightcap as the Phoenix Suns beat the Denver Nuggets in another competitive contest.

Add it all up and the NBA went five for five on Christmas Day. Close, exciting games that went down to the wire. Elite performances from some of the best stars in the sport like LeBron and Steph. Some of the next generation stepping up like Wemby and Anthony Edwards. And not a complaint to be seen about too many threes or repetitive styles of play. For basketball fans, it was like finding an oasis in the middle of the desert.

Compare that to the NFL, which debuted on Netflix with two uncompetitive games featuring teams that all just played each other on national television five days ago and it was very clear who “won” the day from an entertainment standpoint. The Chiefs easily handled the Steelers while the Texans scored zero offensive points against the Ravens, losing by a ridiculous 31-2 scoreline.

Of course, the NBA’s stylistic win probably won’t show in the viewership with the NFL’s popularity, but the league needed to make a statement and did on Christmas Day. That wasn’t lost on LeBron James when he said in his ESPN postgame interview that no matter what the NFL did, it was the NBA’s day.

Hopefully, the great Christmas Day showcase will convince the league’s critics that basketball is not on life support and we don’t need to go back to the dark ages of the mid-1990s to see Charles Oakley and Dale Davis slugging it out in the post to win over fans.

If there’s one thing the NBA missed out on, it was actually highlighting the two best teams in the league so far this season in the Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder. And the NBA should do everything it can to spotlight Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Donovan Mitchell in the next wave of stars. But hopefully, those opportunities will come. For now, the NBA can celebrate that they were able to showcase so many positives about the league on Christmas Day at a time when it was needed most.

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