The NBA fought back on Christmas, and reminded us it still runs this holiday

The NBA wouldn’t let the NFL steal Christmas this year.

The biggest talking point of the NBA season thus far has been about why the NBA sucks now. It feels like the narrative started during the lackluster 2024 NBA All-Star Game (a meaningless exhibition!), and has completely unraveled since. It’s impossible to watch a game on television without legendary former players telling you how much better the game was 30 years ago. It’s impossible to go on online without seeing casual fans give their own reasons for why NBA ratings are down while the diehards get defensive about it.

The biggest complaints, in no particular order: teams shoot too many threes, there are too many blowouts now, star players are always injured or resting, the end of games take too long, etc. All of these issues could have come into focus on Christmas, the league’s big day in the spotlight with five nationally televised games and something like the unofficial season opener for casual fans. The NFL adding two games to the Christmas day slate only made things more treacherous: football is king, and it was coming for the NBA’s marquee holiday.

As the country turned its eyes to the sorry state of professional basketball, something wild happened: the NBA delivered great game after great game. Meanwhile, the NFL gave us two duds that required a subscription service just to watch. Leave it to LeBron James to put it best after a thrilling, last second Los Angeles Lakers win over the Golden State Warriors: “I love the NFL, but Christmas is still our day.”

The basketball was very good all day long. The football slate featured one game that was totally unwatchable (thanks for nothing, Houston Texans) and another that featured the type of inevitable champion in the Kansas City Chiefs that was once used as evidence for why the NBA isn’t compelling. Here’s a real hot take for you: both leagues are wonderful, but the NBA used Christmas to remind us why how great these games can be when they’re easily accessible and the stars give us their best effort.

The Lakers-Warriors showdown had no right to be so captivating. Both teams are stuck in Western Conference play-in range and have more or less botched the end of James’ and Stephen Curry’s historic careers. Well, wins and losses in Dec. mean a lot for two middling teams hoping to make the playoffs, and this game had the intensity of a playoff atmosphere. Credit James and Curry for delivering in the spotlight: they combined for 69 points, and each hit big shots late.

Of course, it was Austin Reaves who ended the game as the hero after his driving layup past Andrew Wiggins won it for the Lakers in the final seconds.

The Christmas slate got off to a great start from the first game of the day, with the New York Knicks hosting Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs at Madison Square Garden. This was the biggest spotlight game of Wembanyama’s career midway through his second pro season, and the former No. 1 overall draft pick put on a show for the world to see. The 7’5 French wunderkind put up 42 points, 18 rebounds, and four assists while hitting six three-pointers and playing 40 minutes.

If this was casual fans’ introduction to the 20-year-old alien, then it couldn’t have gone any better. The NBA hopes Wembanyama will be the face of the league after LeBron and Curry and Kevin Durant retire, and anyone watching that game can tell he’s off to a good start.

For as spectacular as the numbers are, they don’t really do justice to the odd phenomenon of watching Wemby. He routinely does things you have never seen before while still just scratching the surface of what he’ll one day become.

The Knicks still came away with the win in crunch-time thanks to some ridiculous mid-range shot-making from Mikal Bridges and a gutsy offensive rebound from Josh Hart.

Isn’t the mid-range supposed to be dead? I thought NBA players don’t play hard? Well, both of those false narratives were blown up in epic fashion to anyone watching this game. Bridges looked like prime Kevin Durant the way he was splashing shots from mid-range with his go-go gadget arms. Hart is all heart, hustle, and muscle.

The Knicks are 20-10, full of stars, and should continue to get better in their first season with Karl-Anthony Towns. If Wembanyama is the future face of the league, the Knicks could be the NBA’s most important team with the Lakers and Warriors trending down.

The other three games were compelling, too. The Minnesota Timberwolves outlasted the Dallas Mavericks despite a big fourth quarter comeback led by Dallas star Kyrie Irving. Irving’s shot-making is just ridiculous even in defeat.

The Celtics-76ers matchup figured to be a dud with Boston cruising and Philly stuck in a season from hell, but even this game provided a great watch. Joel Embiid actually played for Philly for just the ninth time all season, and dropped 27 points in 31 minutes. Co-star Tyrese Maxey had 33 points and 12 assists. The Celtics ripped away from three-point range — 20-of-49 on the night for a scalding 40.8 percent clip — and still lost.

The Suns beat Nikola Jokic’s Nuggets in the nightcap. Then Kevin Durant spent all night tweeting at random fans who criticize the NBA.

The NBA’s problems aren’t all overblown. The biggest culprit to the idea that the players “aren’t playing hard” is simply that there are too many games. If Wilt Chamberlain could play every minute of every game while fans smoked cigarettes in the stands, why can’t the spoiled kids of today do the same? Well, there’s just too so much physical strain put on the body in the “Spaced Out era” — with more ground to cover quickly than ever before. The skill level of the NBA has never been higher, the athleticism has never been more profound, and the coaching keeps leveling up.

It wasn’t all perfect. Anthony Davis and Luka Doncic each went down with injuries. Devin Booker didn’t play with a groin strain, and Jamal Murray played poorly returning from an ankle injury. For the most part, though, the basketball was great, and significantly better than the football, which was mostly highlighted by Beyonce’s halftime show.

The NBA still has it’s fair share of problems, but when the games are easy to watch and the players are invested in putting on a show, it can deliver at the highest levels. At least for a day, the league still showed how bright it can shine. Everyone agreed that the Christmas product was great.

Can the NBA actually build off this? We’ll see. For a supposedly struggling league, though, this slate was exactly what it needed.