For one day, people forgot about the NBA’s poor ratings. The five games we followed on Christmas Day were so exhilarating that they even overtook the NFL’s own Christmas slate in terms of excitement. All games were decided by 10 points or less and the Stephen Curry vs. LeBron James showdown even gave us a game-winning shot in the end.
For some players, the day was even more special because they got to play near their hometown or return to the city where an important portion of their career took place.
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Sandro and Julian
Two players from the San Antonio Spurs went back to their birthplaces when the Spurs visited the New York Knicks on Christmas Day. The first was Julian Champagnie who was born in Staten Island, spent high school in Brooklyn, and then went to Queens for college. The other player? Sandro Mamukelashvili. He was born in New York City but grew up in Tbilisi, Georgia.
31 PTS ⭐️ 10 REB ⭐️ 13/15 FG
Justin Champagnie WENT OFF vs. the Knicks! The @washwizards Two-Way signee scored a career-high and registered his second double-double of the year in an epic OT battle. #GLeagueAlum pic.twitter.com/HsCsXWo4PX
— NBA G League (@nbagleague) December 29, 2024
Julius Randle
Randle, who was a member of the Knicks, was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves a few months ago. Since the Timberwolves had to travel to Dallas for their Christmas game, he saw it as a chance to play close to home. Dallas is around 20 miles away from where Randle attended high school.
Gabe Vincent
Vincent, like Randle, got to play in an arena that was somewhat close to home, too. Born in Modesto, Calif., Vincent was in San Francisco when his Los Angeles Lakers visited the Golden State Warriors last Christmas. The distance from his hometown to Chase Center? Around 90 miles. That’s less than two hours away by car.
Guerschon Yabusele
Before playing professionally in China and Europe, Yabusele had a two-year stint with the Boston Celtics. He probably thought his NBA career was over until the Philadelphia 76ers picked him up before the season started. Therefore, when the Sixers went to Boston for a Christmas game, you know Yabusele had to be emotional.
Guerschon Yabusele scored as many points tonight (12) as the entire Celtics bench.
Payton Pritchard (four points) went 0-for-8 from three. Sam Hauser (zero) was 0-for-1.
— Zack Cox (@zm_cox) December 26, 2024
Dario Saric
Saric made it to the 2021 NBA Finals when he was playing for the Phoenix Suns. Today, Saric is with the Denver Nuggets, and their first trip to Phoenix this season fell on Christmas Day. Saric did not play and had to be disappointed as the Nuggets lost to his former team by 10 points.
Main Image Credit:
DALLAS, TX – DECEMBER 25: Julius Randle #30 of the Minnesota Timberwolves dribbles the ball during the game against the Dallas Mavericks on December 25, 2024 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2024 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
