Los Angeles Lakers Sign Magic Johnson To 25 Year Deal

There are short contracts. There are long contracts. And then there's the contract Magic Johnson received on June 26, 1981.

After just two seasons, Magic Johnson was already considered one of the most talented players the NBA ever had. It was that level of skill that granted Magic the the most extensive deal in NBA history, as Jerry Buss handed Magic a 25-year, $25 million contract to stick around with the Los Angeles Lakers.

The deal began in 1984, would have ended in 2009, and gave the Lakers' guard one million per season. 

Johnson became just the third player to earn a million-dollar annual salary, joining fellow L.A. teammate Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Houston Rockets forward Moses Malone.

Though he had been given largest contract in the history of professional sports, Johnson was a long way from being happy. Only five months later, the franchise player asked to be traded and subsequently forced Buss to fire head coach Paul Westhead.



With the hiring of Pat Riley in Westhead's place, Johnson remained with the Los Angeles Lakers and helped them win multiple titles over the course of the decade. But by the time his contract became active, it was no longer the lucrative mega-deal that it was when he signed it. Players of all sports were now making $2-3 million a year, and his 25-year deal was preventing him from raking in the cash. He later renegotiated his deal and resumed make top dollar like everyone else.

Chicago Bulls Win 72 Games

April 21, 1996, the NBA's Chicago Bulls win, a still NBA record, 72 games.

The Bulls are the only team in NBA history to win 70 games or more in a single season.

Dennis Rodman (left) gives Michael Jordan (right) a fist bump in a Bulls game in 1996. Swing man Scotti Pippen (center) prepares to give Jordan a second first bump.

The Bulls also hold many other records including

·  Hold the record for most consecutive home games won (44 from 1994–95 through 1995–96).

·  Hold the record for most consecutive home games won, start of season, 37 in 1995–96.

·  Hold the record for most road games won and best overall road record in standard 41 road games, 33–8 in 1995–96.

·  Hold the record for the fewest points per game in a season after 1954–55 (81.9 in 1998–99).

·  Hold the record for the fewest points in a game after 1954–55 (49, April 10, 1999).

·  Hold the record for largest margin of victory in a NBA Finals game (42; defeated the Utah Jazz 96–54).

·  Hold the record for fewest points allowed in a NBA Finals game (54 against the Utah Jazz).

·  Highest defensive rebound percentage in a playoff game (.952 against the Golden State Warriors on April 30, 1975).

·  Dennis Rodman, most offensive rebounds in a NBA Finals game (11 twice against the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1996 NBA Finals).

And share several other NBA records including:

·  Share lowest free throw percentage by two teams in one game (.410 with the Los Angeles Lakers, February 7, 1968).

·  Share record for most personal fouls by two teams in one game (87 with the Portland Trail Blazers, March 16, 1984).

·  Share the No. 2 best overall win–loss home record with 39–2 (with the Cleveland Cavaliers), achieved in both 1995–96 and 1996–97.

·  Shared record: Will Perdue for fewest minutes played by a disqualified player in a playoff game (7 against the New York Knicks, May 14, 1992).

·  Shared record: Two teams with the fewest players to score more than ten points in a playoff game (4 with the Miami Heat, May 24, 1997).

·  Shared record: Highest free throw percentage by one team in a playoff game (1.000 against the Cleveland Cavaliers on May 19, 1992).

The Bulls are also one of the most winningest teams in NBA history earning six NBA Finals Championships, all while Jordan was on the team, for two three-peats from 1991-1993, and 1996-1998.

The Chicago Bulls are the third NBA franchise in Chicago, after the Packers–Zephyrs (now the Washington Wizards) and the Stags (1946–50). The Bulls' founder, Dick Klein, was the only owner to ever play professional basketball (for the Chicago Gears). He served as the Bulls' president and general manager in their first years.

The team started in the 1966–67 NBA season, and posted the best record by an expansion team in NBA history. Coached by Chicagoan and former NBA star Johnny "Red" Kerr, and led by former NBA assist leader Guy Rodgers and forward Bob Boozer, the Bulls qualified for the playoffs.

Air Jordan and Derrick Rose have both won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award while playing for the Bulls, for a total of 6 MVP awards. Jordan has earned five, while Rose, one.

But the awards for Bulls’ players don’t end their, the Bulls have had three Rookies of the Year awarded, including Jordan, Rose and Elton Brand in 2000.

They have had the NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 1995 with Tony Kukoc and 2005 with Ben Gordon as well as the NBA Coach of the Year in 1967, Johnny “Red” Kerr, 1871, Dick Motta, 1996 Phil Jackson and 2011 Tom Thibodeau.

The main rivalries for the Chicago Bulls are the Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks, Miami Heat, Indiana Pacers and the Utah Jazz. All of whom became bigger rivalries during Jordan’s era with the Bulls.

The Bulls have retired four jersey’s in franchise history including guard Jerry Sloan’s number 4 jersey. Forward Bob Love’s number 10 jersey. Jordan’s iconic number 23 jersey as well teammates Pippen’s number 33 jersey.

As well jerseys have been retired for head coach Phil Jackson, who led the Bulls to all six Finals Championships, and franchise employees Johnny Kerr and Jerry Krause, the later the NBA Executive of the Year in 1988 and 1996.

As of 2012, the Bulls were estimated to be the third most valuable NBA franchise according to Forbes, with an estimated value of $800 million, earning an estimated $34.2 million in operating income in 2012.

Michael Jordan Returns

On March 19, 1995, Michael Jordan returns to the Chicago Bulls to beat the Indiana Pacers. The return from Jordan to the NBA came after a 17-month retirement, in which he played baseball for the Chicago White Sox minor league team the Birmingham Barons.

Michael Jordan with the Chicago White Sox in Spring Training of 1994.

On March 18, Jordan announced his return to the NBA through a two-word press release: "I'm back." The next day, Jordan donned jersey number 45 (his number with the Barons), as his familiar 23 had been retired in his honor following his first retirement. He took to the court with the Bulls to face the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis, scoring 19 points.

The game had the highest Nielsen rating of a regular season NBA game since 1975.

Michael Jordan wearing the jersey No. 45 upon his return to the Chicago Bulls ii the March 19, 1995 game against the Indiana Pacers.

Although he hadn't played an NBA game in a year and a half, Jordan played well upon his return, making a game-winning jump shot against Atlanta in his fourth game back. He then scored 55 points in the next game against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on March 28, 1995 (his first appearance at Madison Square Garden since retiring). Boosted by Jordan's comeback, the Bulls went 13–4 to make the playoffs and advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Orlando Magic.

Though at the end of Game 1, Orlando's Nick Anderson stripped Jordan from behind, leading to the game-winning basket for the Magic; he would later comment that Jordan "didn't look like the old Michael Jordan", after which Jordan returned to wearing his old number. Jordan averaged 31 points per game in the series, but Orlando prevailed in six games.

The return of the Jordan to the NBA was good for television and the league, but even greater for the Bulls. His “Airness” would lead the Bulls to their second three-peat championships from 1996-1998.

Jordan is talked about as one of the best players of all-time, and with good reason he won six NBA Championships, earning the NBA Finals MVP each time. He was named the NBA’s MVP five times, an All-Star 14 times, and the MVP of the All-Star game three times. He was a 10 time NBA scoring champion, and three times the NBA steals champ, he was also a two time NBA Slam Dunk Contest Champion and was the Defensive Player of the Year in 1988.

He was nominated to the All-NBA First Team 10 times, Second Team once, All-Defensive First Team nine times, the All-Rookie First Team as well being named the NBA Rookie of the Year in 1985.

The Miami Heat has retired twice by the Bulls and Jordan/s no. 23 jersey once. He was named to the NBA’s 50 Anniversary All-Time Team in 1996.

In his career Jordan scored 32,292 points for an average of 30.1 points per game. Only he and Wilt Chamberlain have averaged 30 or more points per game over their entire career. He also pulled in 6,672 rebounds and 5.633 assists. Jordan still ranks third all-time in steals with 2,514 trailing John Stockton and Jason Kiss.

In August 2009, the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, opened a Michael Jordan exhibit containing items from his college and NBA careers, as well as from the 1992 "Dream Team".

Jordan also won two Gold medals with Team USA at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics and the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics.

After Jordan received word of his being accepted into the Hall of Fame, he selected Class of 1996 member David Thompson to present him. As Jordan would later explain during his induction speech in September 2009, growing up in North Carolina, he was not a fan of the Tar Heels, and greatly admired Thompson, who played at rival North Carolina State.

He was inducted into the Hall in September, with several former Bulls teammates in attendance, including Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Charles Oakley, Ron Harper, Steve Kerr, and Toni Kukoc.  Former coaches of Jordan's, Dean Smith and Doug Collins, were also among those present.

Magic Johnson Reaching NBA Milestone

On March 7, 1996, NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson becomes the second NBA player to reach 10,000 career assists.

After winning championships in high school and college, Johnson was selected first overall in the 1979 NBA Draft by the Lakers.

He won a championship and an NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award in his rookie season, and won four more championships with the Lakers during the 1980s.

Los Angeles Lakers great Magic Johnson (left) in 1991 backing down arguably the best player of all time, Chicago Bulls shooting guard Michael Jordan (right).

Johnson retired abruptly in 1991 after announcing that he had contracted HIV, but returned to play in the 1992 All-Star Game, winning the All-Star MVP Award. After protests from his fellow players, he retired again for four years, but returned in 1996, at age 36, to play 32 games for the Lakers before retiring for the third and final time.

Johnson's career achievements include three NBA MVP Awards, nine NBA Finals appearances, twelve All-Star games, where he was the MVP twice. He also earned nine All-NBA First and one Second Team nominations. He led the league in regular-season assists four times, and is the NBA's all-time leader in average assists per game, at 11.2. He also led the NBA in steals twice in 1982-1983. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 1980.

The Lakers retired his no. 32 jersey.

Johnson was a member of the "Dream Team", the U.S. basketball team that won the Olympic gold medal in 1992. After leaving the NBA in 1992, Johnson formed the Magic Johnson All-Stars, a barnstorming team that traveled around the world playing exhibition games.

Johnson was honored as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996, and enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002.

Magic was rated the greatest NBA point guard of all time by ESPN in 2007. His friendship and rivalry with Boston Celtics star Larry Bird, whom he faced in the 1979 NCAA finals and three NBA championship series were well documented.

Since his retirement, Johnson has been an advocate for HIV/AIDS prevention and safe sex, as well as an entrepreneur^, philanthropist^, broadcaster and motivational speaker.

Johnson was a part owner of the Lakers for several years, and was part of a group that purchased the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012.

Michael Jordan Sets Chicago Bulls Scoring Record

On Feb. 26, 1987, Michael Jordan's 58 points sets a new Chicago Bulls record for most points in a single game. While not his highest point total of his career for a single game, as he scored in the 60’s multiple times, including a 69-point game against the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1990.

Chicago Bulls shooting guard Michael Jordan in the 1987 NBA Dunk Contest.

This was however a highlight in Jordan’s career, which had many including winning six NBA Championships, being named the NBA Finals MVP all six times. He would win the regular seasons MVP five times, be named an All-Star 14-times, being named the MVP of the All-Star game three times. He was a 10 times NBA scoring champion, and three time NBA steals champion, being named to the All-NBA First team 10 times, NBA All-Defensive First team nine times and All-NBA Second team once. He was nominated to the NBA All-Rookie First Team and won the NBA Slam Dunk contest in back-to-back years in 1987 and 1988.

In 1988, Jordan was honored with the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year Award and became the first NBA player to win both the Defensive Player of the Year and MVP awards in a career (since equaled by Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, and Kevin Garnett; Olajuwon is the only player other than Jordan to win both during the same season).

In addition he set both seasonal and career records for blocked shots by a guard, and combined this with his ball-thieving ability to become a standout defensive player.

He ranks third in NBA history in total steals with 2,514, trailing John Stockton and Jason Kidd.

Jordan finished his career with 32,292 points, 6,672 rebounds and 5,633 assists.

The NBA selected Jordan to the NBA’s 50 Anniversary All-Time Team, and his no. 23 jersey was retired by the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat. Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year – 1991 Named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996 Ranked No.1 by SLAM Magazine's Top 50 Players of All-Time

In International play Jordan earned two Gold Medals with the “Dream Team” in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and 1992 Barcelona Olympics. He also won Gold on United State’s team in the 1992 FIBA Americas Championship and the 1983 Pan American Games.

In a 1999 ESPN poll, Jordan was ranked the greatest U.S. athlete of the Century.

Jordan is one of the most marketed sports figures in history. He has been a major spokesman for such brands as Nike, Coca-Cola, Chevrolet, Gatorade, McDonald's, Ball Park Franks, Rayovac, Wheaties, Hanes, and MCI. Jordan has had a long relationship with Gatorade, appearing in over 20 commercials for the company since 1991, including the "Like Mike" commercials in which children wishing to be like Jordan sang a song.

Jordan’s legacy went outside of basketball as Nike created a signature shoe for him, called the Air Jordan.

One of Jordan's more popular commercials for the shoe involved Spike Lee playing the part of Mars Blackmon. In the commercials Lee, as Blackmon, attempted to find the source of Jordan's abilities and became convinced that "it's gotta be the shoes.

The hype and demand for the shoes even brought on a spate of "shoe-jackings" where people were robbed of their sneakers at gunpoint. Subsequently Nike spun off the Jordan line into its own division named the "Jordan Brand". The company features an impressive list of athletes and celebrities as endorsers. The brand has also sponsored college sports programs such as those of North Carolina, Cincinnati, Cal, St. John's, Georgetown, and North Carolina A&T.

Jordan also has been associated with the Looney Tunes cartoon characters.

A Nike commercial shown during the 1993 Super Bowl XXVII featured Jordan and Bugs Bunny playing basketball against a group of Martian characters. The Super Bowl commercial inspired the 1996 live action/animated movie Space Jam, which starred Jordan and Bugs in a fictional story set during his first retirement. They have subsequently appeared together in several commercials for MCI.

In June 2010, Jordan was ranked by Forbes Magazine as the 20th most powerful celebrity in the world with $55 million earned between June 2009 and June 2010. According to the Forbes article, Jordan Brand generates $1 billion in sales for Nike.

NBA Suspends Rodman Indefinitely

On Jan. 17, 1997, ESPN reports bad boy Dennis Rodman was suspended indefinitely by the NBA season due to the first lockout that actually went on during the NBA season.

Rodman kicked a courtside cameraman and was fined $25,000 for the incident. Rodman was reinstated and went on to become one of the top rebounders in the league.

Rodman started his career in Detroit with the Pistons, after being drafted 27^th overall in the second round of the 1986 NBA Draft. On the Pistons, Rodman was part of the “Bad Boys” for their hard-nosed approach to basketball.

The squad featured Isaiah Thomas and Joe Dumars at the guard positions, Adrian Dantley and Sidney Green at forward, and center Bill Laimbeer.

Rodman would play with the Pistons from 1986-1993 and would earn two NBA Championships with the Detroit franchise. He would earn two NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards, two All-Star nominations, one All-NBA Third Team nomination in 1992, five NBA All-Defensive First Team nominations and two NBA Rebounding Champion awards.

The Detroit Pistons would retire his no. 10 jersey in 2011.

After his first five years with the Pistons, Rodman would move to the San Antonio Spurs for three years from 1993-1995. With the Spurs, Rodman would continue his dominance as a defensive presence, winning another All-Defensive First Team award in 1995, as well All-Defensive Second Team award in 1994, while earning the NBA Rebounding Champion every year in San Antonio. He would also earn another All-NBA Third Team award in 1995.

After his short stint with the Spurs, Rodman would make his best career move, joining the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan on his first return from retirement. During his four years with the Bulls, Rodman would win four more NBA Rebounding Champion awards, one more All-Defensive First Team award, and most importantly three more NBA-Championships from 1996-1998.

After the 1998 season Rodman would leave the Bulls for the Los Angeles Lakers. He would only play one year with the Lakers, during the lockout-shortened season he would only see action in 23 games before being released.

In the 2000 season Rodman would join the Dallas Mavericks. For the Mavericks, he played 12 games, was ejected twice and alienated the franchise with his erratic behavior until he was waived again; then Dallas guard and teammate Steve Nash commented that Rodman "never wanted to be [a Maverick]" and therefore was unmotivated.

After leaving the NBA in 2000, Rodman went on a hiatus from basketball for three years until picking up with Long Beach Jam of the newly-formed American Basketball Association during the 2003–2004 season, with hopes of being called up to the NBA midseason.

In the following 2004–2005 season, he signed with the ABA's Orange County Crush and the following season with the league's Tijuana Dragons.

After retiring from wrestling, Rodman became Commissioner of the Lingerie Football League in 2005.

In 2005, Rodman also made two visits to Finland. At first, he was present at Sonkajärvi in July in a wife-carrying contest. However, he resigned from the contest due to health problems. In November, he played one match for Torpan Pojat of the Finland's basketball league, Korisliiga.

That same year, Rodman published his second autobiography I Should Be Dead By Now and promoted this by sitting in a coffin.

The return to the NBA never materialized, but on Jan. 26, 2006, it was announced that Rodman had signed a one-game "experiment" deal for the UK basketball team Brighton Bears of the British Basketball League to play Guildford Heat on January 28, and went on to play three games for the Bears.

In spring 2006, he played two exhibition games in the Philippines along with NBA ex-stars Darryl Dawkins, Kevin Willis, Calvin Murphy, Otis Birdsong and Alex English. On April 27, they defeated a team of former Philippine Basketball Association stars in Mandaue City, Cebu and Rodman scored five points and grabbed 18 rebounds.

On May 1, 2006, Rodman's team played their second game and lost to the Philippine National Basketball team 110–102 at the Araneta Coliseum, where he scored three points and recorded 16 rebounds.

Apart from basketball, Rodman is a retired part-time professional wrestler and actor. He was a member of the NWO and fought alongside Hulk Hogan at two Bash at the Beach events. He had his own TV show The Rodman World Tour, and had lead roles in the action films Simon Sez and Double Team alongside Jean-Claude Van Damme. Both films were critically panned, with the latter earning Rodman a triple Razzie Award. He appeared in several reality TV series and was the winner of the $222,000 main prize of the 2004 edition of Celebrity Mole. Rodman won the first ever Celebrity Championship Wrestling tournament.

On April 4, 2011, it was announced that Rodman would be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

This year Rodman got into some hot water with the media for his comments made during his trip to North Korea.

Suns Cancel Game With Heat

On Jan. 17, 1989, the Phoenix Suns cancel their game against the Miami Heat just minutes before game time.

The Chicago Tribune reported racial tensions in Miami were intense and parts of the city were rioting that evening. The Suns were scheduled to play the Miami Heat, but the game was canceled 50 minutes before it was scheduled to start due to pressure from the community.

The arena was located on the edge of the Overtown neighborhood. A day before the game, police officers shot and killed a black resident of the neighborhood. Schools were closed and police were out in force as they tried to quell sniper fire and looting in Overtown.

Other games that have been cancelled in the NBA have been during the 1998-1999 season. The lockout in 98-99 lasted more than six months. Which forced the season to be shortened to 50 regular season games by the time the league was back up and running.

During the 2005 season the New Orleans Hornets would play all of their games in Oklahoma City due to damage to their stadium and the city of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. In 2007 the Hornets returned to New Orleans.

Last year, during the 2011-2012 season the NBA was in the middle of another lockout. This time the lockout lasted just over five months and forced the NBA regular season schedule to be reduced to 66 regular season games.

This year Hurricane Sandy forced the postponement of several games on the East Coast, but none of the games were completely cancelled.

Auerbach Gets Win 1,000

On Jan. 12, 1966, legendary Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach won the 1,000^th game of this coaching career. This total counts playoff games. Auerbach is often credited with building the NBA dynasty in Boston. He won nine championships with the team. Which is the second most for a head coach all time only behind Phil Jackson who won 12 with the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers.

Auerbach also emphasized the need for role players like Frank Ramsey and John Havlicek, who became one of the first legitimate sixth men in NBA history, a role later succeeded in by Don Nelson.

Auerbach's recipe proved devastating to the opposition.

From 1957 to 1966, the Celtics won nine of ten NBA championships.

This included eight consecutive championships—which is the longest championship streak in North American sports—and beat the Los Angeles Lakers of Hall-of-Famers Elgin Baylor and Jerry West six times in the NBA Finals. Perhaps most notably, this also included denying perennial scoring and rebounding champion Wilt Chamberlain a title during Auerbach's coaching reign.

Auerbach is remembered as a pioneer of modern basketball, redefining basketball as a game dominated by team play and defense and for introducing the fast break as a potent offensive weapon.

He groomed many players who went on to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Additionally, Auerbach was vital in breaking down color barriers in the NBA. He made history by drafting the first African-American NBA player, Chuck Cooper in 1950, and introduced the first African-American starting five in 1964.

Famous for his polarizing nature, he was well known for smoking a cigar when he thought a victory was assured, a habit that became, for many, "the ultimate symbol of victory" during his Boston tenure.

In 1967, the NBA Coach of the Year award, which he had won in 1965, was named the "Red Auerbach Trophy," and Auerbach was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1969.

In 1980, he was named the greatest coach in the history of the NBA by the Professional Basketball Writers Association of America, and was NBA executive of the year in 1981.

In addition, Auerbach was voted one of the NBA 10 Greatest Coaches in history, was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, and is honored with a retired number 2 jersey in the TD Garden, the home of the Boston Celtics.

Jordan Scores 20,000

On Jan. 8, 1993, Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls picked up the 20,000^th point of his NBA career. The historic point came during a big win over the Milwaukee Bucks. It was the 620^th game of his career. Only Wilt Chamberlain had reached the milestone faster than Jordan.

Jordan finished his career 32,292 points, and is the third highest scorer all-time behind only Los Angeles Lakers great Kareem Abdul-Jabar with 38,387 points and Utah Jazz great Karl Malone who scored 36,928 in his career.

Despite not being the leagues All-Time leading scorer, Jordan is recognized as the best, or one of the best players to play the game.

“His Airness” as Jordan has been refereed to has won six NBA Championships, with three-peats in 1991-1993 and 1996-1998. He was the NBA Finals MVP in each of the NBA Championships they won. Jordan won the leagues NBA MVP in 1988, 1991-1992, 1996 and 1998.

Jordan was named an All-Star 14 times, and three times he was named the NBA All-Star game MVP in those games. He was also the NBA defensive player of the year in 1988, and the NBA Rookie of the Year in 1985. He was a 10-time NBA scoring champion and a three-time NBA steals champion.

Jordan was named to the All-NBA First Team 10-times, and ALL-NBA Second Team once, his rookie year. He was nine-times named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team, and the NBA All-Rookie First Team.

Showing off his high-flying skills Jordan won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest in back-to-back years in 1987-1988 beating out Dominique Wilkins and Spud Webb for the honors.

On Nov. 1, 1994 the Chicago Bulls retired Michael Jordan’s no. 23 jersey, while he was on his first pseudo-retirement leave from the league

Jordan was named to the NBA’s 50^th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1996, while he was still playing for the Bulls.

In 2009 Jordan was inducted into the NBA’s Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

NBA Christmas Special

CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

Most fans of basketball do one thing on Christmas, sit down and watch the NBA games being aired that day. With such a special day upon us I wanted to go back and look into the history on the NBA playing on Christmas Day.

HISTORY OF NBA ON CHRISTMAS

The first NBA games played on December 25 came in 1947, a year after the NBA's inception, when the New York Knicks beat the Providence Steamrollers at Madison Square Garden 89–75.

In the early days, regional proximity dictated most of the matchups on Christmas Day. Teams would usually play their geographical rivals to cut down on holiday travel and allow them to have more time with their families.

According to Dr. Jack Ramsay, coach of the Portland Trail Blazers from their only championship season of 1976–77 to 1986: "Christmas meant being at home with the family and having a game we always won. That was a perfect Christmas to me.”

Dr. Jack Ramsay has the most coaching victories on Christmas Day, with 11, a record that Phil Jackson tied in 2008.

In the early 1980s, after three straight years of memorable moments involving the New York Knicks, including Bernard King scoring 60 points in 1984, the most ever scored by a player on Christmas Day, and with the advent of television, the NBA scheduled games over the holiday as a showcase featuring the best teams and players.

The Knicks have played the most games on Christmas Day, with 47, and are 22–25 on the holiday. The Knicks' 22 wins are the most by a team on Christmas Day.

Doc Rivers participated as a player with the Knicks in 1992 and as a coach with the Boston Celtics since 2008. Bryant has played 14 games on Christmas Day, the most of any player and more than he has on any other date on the calendar, playing his first in 1996, and most recently in 2011.

FANCY JERSEYS

Many teams and players that have played on this day have worn special uniforms and sneakers. Since 2009, the Knicks wear their third jersey, the green/orange alternate which they first used exclusively for St. Patrick's Day since the 2005–06 season. During the game between the Heat and the Lakers in 2010, players on both teams wore holiday sneakers, including lime-green Nike kicks on Bryant, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom. LeBron James and Chris Bosh wore holiday-red shoes with garish green laces.

Since the 2008–09 season, teams playing on Christmas Day wear a patch featuring the NBA logo inside a snowflake. For the 2012–13 season games, special edition monochrome uniforms will be used. The uniforms, colloquially known as "Big Color", was designed by Adidas.

This year the NBA will be wearing the new sleeved jerseys made by Adidas, the Adi-zero jersey's which the Warriors debuted last year.

MEMORABLE GAMES

The NBA playing on Christmas Day has featured some of the most memorable games ever played, including Bernard King scoring 60 points for the New York Knicks in 1984, Patrick Ewing helping the Knicks come back to beat the Boston Celtics after trailing by 25 points in 1985, and again beating Michael Jordan and the Bulls on last second jumper in 1986, Scottie Pippen's last second block in 1994, the first showdown featuring Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal as opponents in 2004, Phil Jackson becoming the fastest coach to win 1,000 games in 2008, showdowns between LeBron James and Kobe Bryant in 2009 and 2010, and the opening of the 2011–12 season as a result of a lockout.

Rivalries have also been showcased during games played on this day. During the 1990s, each Christmas featured a game involving either the New York Knicks or the Chicago Bulls, with both teams playing against each other in both the Bulls championship season of 1992–93 and 1994, and would have played each other in 1998, if there had not been a lockout.

The only year during the 1990s in which neither team played on Christmas Day was during the Bulls first championship season in their second three-peat, in 1995–96.

During the 2000s, the NBA showcased the Shaq–Kobe feud. Since 1999, each Christmas has featured games involving either the Celtics or the Lakers, with the two teams playing on the holiday in 2002 and every year since 2008 and facing off against each other during the first of the Lakers' most recent back-to-back championship seasons of 2008–09, the first meeting between the two teams since that year's finals.

Today the Christmas NBA scene is set with five games this year starting at 9 a.m. with the Boston Celtics and the Brooklyn Nets. The second game of the day features the New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers. The third game features the two teams returning from last years NBA Finals as the Oklahoma City Thunder face off in Miami against the Heat. The fourth game sees the Houston Rockets take on the Chicago Bulls. With the 2012 NBA Christmas Day finale being set up between the Clippers and Nuggets.

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I hope everyone enjoys their holiday and watches some NBA hoops, which could be historical.

Bryant, Jamison Score 50

On Dec. 6, 2000, Antawn Jamison of the Golden State Warriors and Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers each score 51 points in the game. It marked only the third time in NBA history that opposing players have scored at least 50 in a game. The previous time that happened was 38 years ago when Wilt Chamberlain scored 63 points and Elgin Baylor scored 50-points as the Bucks and Lakers played.

Jamison also scored 51 points in the game prior to the one he and Bryant both scored over 50.

While Antawn Jamison has gone on to be a NBA journeyman, Kobe Bryant has lit up the record books. Currently he is ranked fourth all-time in the NBA, with 31, 617 points. Bryant joins just four other players to score over 31,000 points in the NBA as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Michael Jordan are above him, and Wilt Chamberlain is behind him.

With Bryant on the comeback trail right now, he could possibly pass Jordan this year to take sole possession of third place in the NBA’s All-Time scoring leader list.