Jalen Williams’ plan for Thursday is outlined like this: gifts in the morning, then a game in the afternoon.
To him, that sounds like an exceptional Christmas.
Williams and the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder, whose players felt overlooked by the creators of the Christmas calendar last year, are on the league’s list of marquee games this year, facing the San Antonio Spurs as part of the annual Dec. 25 lineup.
The schedule, with all times in the East: Cleveland at New York begins at noon, followed by the Spurs at Oklahoma City at 2:30 in the afternoon, Dallas at Golden State at five in the afternoon, Houston at the home of the Los Angeles Lakers at eight in the afternoon and Minnesota at Denver at 10:30 at night.
“As a basketball player, I feel like you grow up — actually, if you’re a sports fan, you grow up watching sports on Christmas. Being able to be a part of that is really cool,” Williams said. “What time do we play, 1:30 (Central)? Yeah, we’re like the cool game. Like, at 1:30, the presents are already opened and everyone’s watching the games. I’m really looking forward to that.”
For most of the Thunder, it will be the first time: The only current Oklahoma City players to score in a Christmas game are Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso. And it will be the second Christmas game for San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama, whose Christmas debut last year was a 42-point, 18-rebound effort against New York.
“It’s a big day for the NBA and the guys are excited to play in that slate of games,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “It’s one of 82 at the end of the day, but it’s a heightened circumstance because of the attention on the game and the noise around it. Those are good experiences for any team and certainly for us.”
The Thunder have the NBA’s best record at 26-4 this season — 26-2 against every team except the Spurs, 0-2 against San Antonio, which beat Oklahoma City 130-110 on Tuesday after eliminating the Thunder in the NBA Cup semifinals earlier this month.
“They’re going to be focused, more than ever before, probably,” Wembanyama said of the impending Christmas gathering.
For LeBron James, it won’t be the first time: If he plays with the Lakers on Thursday, it will be his 20th Christmas game. That’s more than 17 current franchises have played in their existence.
“I would much rather be home with my family,” James said. “But it’s a game, it’s the game I love, it’s a game I watched as a kid on Christmas Day, watching a lot of the greats play on Christmas. It’s always been an honor to be a part of. I’m going to be completely honest: I’d like to be home on the couch with my family all day, but my number is called, our number is called, so we have to go out and perform.”
LeBron at Christmas
James playing in his 20th Christmas game would mean the record books will need to be updated again when this Christmas roster is completed.
He is already the all-time Christmas leader in games played, points (507), wins (11), field goals (180) and triples scored (31, tied with James Harden).
Next up: assists, steals and free throws. James is currently second in Christmas assists with 137, eight behind Oscar Robertson. He’s also second in steals with 28, two behind Russell Westbrook, and second in free throws made with 116 — nine behind Robertson on that list.
James is sixth in Christmas rebounds with 143, one behind No. 5 Dolph Schayes; nine behind No. 4 Wilt Chamberlain; and 12 behind No. 3, Shaquille O’Neal. (No. 1 Bill Russell, at 176, and No. 2 Wes Unseld, at 163, are probably safe from James this year.)
More about triples
While James and Harden are tied on the list for 3-pointers made, some other familiar names could rise with big efforts on Thursday.
Dallas’ Klay Thompson enters the day as No. 3 on the list with 27 3-pointers made on Christmas, one ahead of Golden State’s Stephen Curry and Houston’s Kevin Durant.
still waiting
The Christmas wait continues for some teams.
Sacramento hasn’t played on Dec. 25 since 2003, Indiana — which could have been chosen this year had Tyrese Haliburton not been injured in Game 7 of the NBA Finals — hasn’t been on the Christmas roster since 2004 and Detroit hasn’t 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 Christmas game in 2007, or more recently than the Kings, Pacers and Pistons.
Orlando hasn’t played on Christmas since 2011, and Chicago hasn’t played since 2016. Meanwhile, Boston’s nine-year streak of Christmas appearances comes to an end this year.
On the other end of the spectrum, the Lakers are playing on Christmas for the 27th consecutive year and Golden State is playing on Christmas for the 13th consecutive season.
“Just excited for another great game on Christmas Day,” Curry said Monday after the Warriors won their second straight to move to 15-15 on the season and enter the holidays with some momentum. “The vibes are good right now.”
Welcome, boy
Dallas’ Cooper Flagg — who turned 19 this week — is ready to make his Christmas debut.
If Flagg plays, he will be the fourth-youngest player to appear in a Christmas game. Kobe Bryant, Bill Willoughby and James were 18 years old in their first Christmas game.
Durant’s Christmas travels
Durant is set to play on Christmas for a fifth different team (and sixth different jersey), making his Christmas path one of the longest in NBA history.
Durant has also played on this special date for Seattle and Oklahoma City, then Golden State, Brooklyn, Phoenix and on Thursday, the Rockets — the team he joined this past summer — join the list.
O’Neal (Orlando, Lakers, Miami, Phoenix, Cleveland and Boston) played on Christmas for six teams. Among those who have played on the holiday with five franchises: Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony.
Much West
Of the ten teams playing on Christmas this year, eight come from the Western Conference.
That’s the most for a conference on Christmas since 1978, when the Eastern Conference saw eight of its then-11 teams chosen to play on the holiday.
The last time the East had more teams playing on Christmas than the West was in 2004. Since then, including this year, the Christmas schedule has seen an even East-West division ten times and the West has seen more teams chosen for the Christmas roster on 11 occasions.
Sports in Spanish AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
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