STARTING FIVE - BEST XMAS GAMES PERFORMANCES
Since I fell in love with the game of basketball, Christmas has always been all about the NBA. That's when I got a new NBA jersey or new soles, and in 1994 I got two packs of one of the best card series of all time, the Fleer Ultra 1994-95. In one of those, I pulled the Shaq "Scoring King" and I felt like I ruled the world. But the best part since they launched NBA League Pass is Christmas Day because they start the games at 6 PM in Sweden. Every year I have to watch my Knicks loose to the 76ers or Celtics, but then when noon hits on the West coast, there's always one or two really good games to enjoy. This year, I'm rooting for Luka to have a big game. Even tho he's coming off a 50 piece against the Rockets the other day, I've learned to never bet against Luka.
As I was waiting for the Knicks to start this Chsitmas Day, I started to think about who had the best performances on Xmas Day. Here's my Starting Five of Best Xmas Day Performances.
5. LeBron James 2010
The Lakers were the defending champions and the Miami Heat had started their first season with their Big 3 way under what people were expecting, close to a .500 record before going on a 12 game winning streak just before losing to the Mavs. This was supposed to be Kobe vs LeBron, but it turned out to be the LeBron show, as he had a triple double with 27-11-10. Kobe finished the game with 17-6-7 on 6/16 shooting. Two years later, it was the infamous "Foam finger disaster" in the Staples Center...
4. Kobe Bryant 2004
After Shaq was traded to the Heat, the NBA announced it's schedule and the most hyped game of the entire season was for sure Shaq's homecoming. The game went to overtime with the Heat winning 104-102. Shaq had a solid 24-11 while second year phenom Dwyane Wade had a 29-10 game, but the star of the night was Kobe Bean Bryant. He had 42 points, made 5 three's (back when 5 threes made headlines...) and went 13/13 from the charity stripe. There was no debate about who's team it was anymore.
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3. Rasheed Wallace 2000
This is not a hot take. This is just a super bias take since Sheed is one of my all-time favorite players, but there's some truth to this also. Remember when the Lakers stormed back to win the Western Conference Finals in 2000 after trailing by 15 going into the 4th quarter? This was the Blazers statement game on a national stage to prove they were still a team to count on. Do you know how good you have to be, to beat the Lakers when Shaq and Kobe combines for 61 points AND Rick Fox drops 22 points? Well, the Blazers won 109-104 thanks to Rasheed Wallace scoring 33 and grabbing 8 boards. Side note: Shawn Kemp dropped 12 and 5 off the bench. Imagine if he was in shape...
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2. Michael Jordan 1992
In the early and mid 90's the Bulls were more or less always the favorites going in to a matchup. But in 1992-93 the Knicks were looking really strong after loosing to the Bulls in the Eastern Conference Semis in 7 games, finishing the season as the number 1 seed in the East with a 60-22 record. So, after taking a 10 point lead in the first quarter, it looked like this was a statement game by Pat Riley. And then what usually happened in the 90's happened. MJ took over, scoring 42 points and the Bulls won with typical Eastern Conference scores, 89-77.
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1. Bernard King
As a Knicks fan, this is one of the things you just have to know. We know about Willis Reed limping out of the tunnel to warm up and score 4 points in 1970, we know about LJ's 4-point play, Starks dunk on Jordan (yeah, he's in the frame.), and that Bernard King dropped 60 points on Christmas Day in 1984. That the Nets won the game 120-114 at Madison Square Garden. That part we usually leave out.