Special Christmas Day NBA Plus – December 25

It’s a special Christmas Day NBA feast of professional basketball today. But wait…there’s more! Yes, this Christmas Day is even better because we get some NFL football too. It’s a great present for the sports fan and sports bettor who can go to his sportsbook today and actually find more than just the typical Christmas Day NBA. 

Today’s sports schedule might remind us of those days back in the summer right around the MLB All-Star game. There just isn’t much going on. The NHL has been off for three days and will resume play tomorrow. There are no college football bowl games today. Even college basketball takes the day off. But, as has been tradition for many years, there are five Christmas Day NBA games today. And, since we’ve been really good this year, we’ll get three NFL games too.

Christmas Day NBA History

The first Christmas Day NBA game was played in 1947, one year after Madison Square Garden opened. There has been at least one Christmas Day NBA game in every season since 1947, with the exception of the 1998-99 season. The league cancelled half the season due to a lockout. 

The NHL is forbidden from playing games on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It’s written into the league’s collective bargaining agreement. The NFL will only play games on Christmas in years when the holiday falls over the weekend. This year is a huge exception. The NFL usually doesn’t like to schedule games on Christmas Day. To prepare for all three NFL games today, visit the Sports Hub Monday Night Football picks page. You won’t regret it.

College football used to have the Aloha Bowl on Christmas Day, but that game is now defunct. That leaves the NBA as the only major professional sports league to schedule games on Christmas.

Christmas Day NBA Fun Facts

In a Christmas Day NBA game in 1984, New York Knicks star and Hall of Famer Bernard King scored 60 points. His performance and the advent of television coverage gave NBA executives a brilliant idea. They would schedule their best teams and best players to play in the Christmas Day NBA games. 

With five games total, the NBA will always have the two teams that played in the previous year’s NBA Finals. Both Denver, the reigning NBA champion, and Miami will play today. The league will also try to feature the reigning league MVP. Last year’s winner was Joel Embiid and his Philadelphia 76ers will play Miami tonight. 

As a result of this scheduling, some teams play more Christmas Day NBA games than others. The New York Knicks have played the most – 54. Some teams play fewer Christmas Day NBA games and one team has never even played one. That would be the Charlotte Hornets. 

Merry Christmas Sports Hub Handicappers

All I want for Christmas is a Sports Hub membership. It’s the gift that will keep on giving all year long. Yesterday, it gave a top-3 full of SportsHub experts who didn’t lose a pick and won nearly $1000! It’s a daily occurrence here and our experts will keep winning into the New Year. Don’t get left behind. Join now and hop on the money train!

Let’s look at yesterday’s leaderboard.

• SWJ Sports: Scott at SWJ Sports put four NFL picks in the system and cashed on all four. A perfect 4-0 mark turned into $400. That makes it $600 over the past three days and $1294 over the past 30.
• Jhon Walsh: Jhon followed Scott’s lead with three NFL picks and a 3-0 record. Jhon won $300 and he has a pick for one of today’s NFL games. Check the members’ area to find out which one.
• Randall Dickelman: Our final Sports Hub expert in the top-3 was Randall who found success on two college basketball picks and a soccer pick. In the end, he won $271 which now gives him winnings of $2023 over the past 30 days. 

If you check the picks database, you’ll find over three dozen picks for the three NFL games today. You’ll also find over three dozen picks for today’s Christmas Day NBA games. With the way our Sports Hub cappers have been winning, you’ll definitely want to check this out before placing your bets today.

NFL Playoff Picture Clearing Up

After a Sunday full of NFL games, the league’s playoff picture is starting to clear up. There are still plenty of questions to be answered. Some of them may get answered today with the final three games of Week 16. 

Christmas Day NBA is also trending. One of the big names that fans wanted to see today is out. Don’t worry though. There are plenty of other stars on the court today.

Let’s check out what’s trending in sports.

• Lions: The Detroit Lions clinched their first division title since 1993 with a 30-24 win over Minnesota yesterday. Detroit (11-4) is currently No. 2 in the NFC playoff standings.

• Dolphins: The Miami Dolphins finally beat another team with a winning record. The Fins beat Dallas 22-20 and clinched a playoff berth. Miami is now 11-4 and in the driver’s seat in the AFC East.
• Embiid out: We mentioned the NBA likes to get the reigning MVP in on the Christmas Day NBA action. Well, Embiid’s Sixers will play in Miami tonight, but the MVP will sit out due to an ankle injury.

Schedule Full of Christmas Day NBA Games 

It’s a short schedule today. If you love the NFL and NBA, you’re in luck. If you’re into something else, well, better luck tomorrow. It’s Christmas Day and that means gathering together with friends and family. So, sit back and enjoy. If you’ll be betting on anything today, be sure to check the Sports Hub picks database to see how our experts see today’s games.

Here’s what’s on a rather light schedule.

1. Christmas Day NBA: There are five games on the schedule and they are as follows.
   1. Milwaukee @ New York
   2. Golden State @ Denver
   3. Boston @ Los Angeles Lakers
   4. Philadelphia @ Miami
   5. Dallas @ Phoenix

2. Christmas Day NFL: It’s rare, but the NFL chose to schedule three games today. All three games will have an impact on the wild card races in each conference. Las Vegas plays at Kansas City in the early game. The New York Giants play rival Philadelphia at 4:30 p.m. ET and Baltimore is at San Francisco in the night game in what could be a Super Bowl LVIII preview.
3. Soccer: The only professional soccer leagues with matches today are the Turkish Super Lig, Thai League 1, and the Ghanian Premier League. That’s it.

Can you believe it? There is no college football. No NHL. No college basketball and no tennis or golf. Remember, it’s Christmas and that means family, friends, and some Christmas Day NBA. Plus, we get an extra present this year with three NFL games. Enjoy this wonderful holiday and we’ll be back here tomorrow when the sports world gets back at it. Merry Christmas from Sports Hub!