The league on Thursday aired a promotional video called “The Gift of Basketball” that shows exactly what we love about Christmas Day in the NBA.
The promo spot is a continuation of the NBA’s global “This is Why We Play” advertising campaign, which is basically just an excuse for us to see incredible moments from the league’s best teams.
The video says each game makes it feel like Christmas morning, five times throughout the day. I don’t know if that’s necessarily true for Wolves-Lakers, but it’ll undeniably be night time by that point anyway.
“The Gift of Christmas” shows guys like LeBron James, Klay Thompson, Russell Westrbook and Eric Gordon (one of these things is not like the other!) on courts overtaken by winter snow. They are either making shots (Thompson and Westbrook) or celebrating (James and Gordon). Things look generally happy.
Gordon is probably just happy to be included, while Westbrook is pumped to have someone say he’s “heating up” during a season in which he’s shooting 40 percent from the field and the Thunder are 12-14.
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For Christmas this year, the league has once again concocted a slate full of competitive rivalries and young stars. This is the NBA Christmas Day schedule:
- Philadelphia 76ers at New York Knicks at 12:00 p.m. ET on ESPN
- Cleveland Cavaliers at Golden State Warriors at 3:00 p.m. ET on ABC
- Washington Wizards at Boston Celtics at 5:30 p.m. ET on ABC
- Houston Rockets at Oklahoma City at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC
- Minnesota Timberwolves at Los Angeles Lakers at 10:30 p.m. ET on TNT