Jalen Brunson Newest Member of Knicks' All-Christmas Team
Having the New York Knicks serve as a de facto staple in the NBA's Christmas festivities is both a blessing and a curse to the team's expansive fanbase: it sounds like the perfect counter to the chaos and stress often brought about by gathering, planning, and shopping, one relieved by the joy of watching their team play.
While the NBA, unlike the NFL, has no teams guaranteed to play on its primary holiday (the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions have held Thanksgiving slots for decades), the Knicks have more often than not been called upon to work the holiday: Monday's tilt against the Milwaukee Bucks was the Knicks' 56th Christmas game in franchise history, extending their long-established NBA record with a 129-122 victory.
Monday's extension of this unofficial holiday tradition proved historic in more ways than one: with their 24th win on Dec. 25, the Knicks tied the Los Angeles Lakers for the most Christmas victories in NBA history. Jalen Brunson made a Christmas memory with a 38-point showing over the Eastern Conference's defending top seed, the third-best tally in Knicks history behind only franchise legends Bernard King and Richie Guerin.
With that in mind, it feels like the perfect opportunity to update the Knicks' all-time Christmas team, a 12-man group for the 12 days and more, one that may prove far more valuable than a pair of turtle doves ...
C: Patrick Ewing
Ewing's dominance was already well-known, having been labeled the ultimate prize of the inaugural NBA Draft Lottery in 1985. But one of his first nationally recognized signs of dominance came on Christmas in his rookie campaign, when he set an early career-high at 32 points and hauled in 16 rebounds in a double-overtime win over the future champion Boston Celtics. Ewing partook in six holiday contests with the Knicks, scoring a total of 148 points and posting four double-doubles in that span. In the year after he bested Boston, Ewing had the game-winner via a putback off a Trent Tucker miss when the Knicks topped Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.
F: Carmelo Anthony
The Knicks went 1-3 in three Christmas trips headlined by Anthony, but he deserves some props for his performance in the lone win of that stretch: with the 2011 lockout pushing opening day to Christmas, Anthony got the Knicks started on a high note through a 37-point, eight-rebound showing (capped off by the winning free throws with 16 seconds remaining) in a 106-104 win over Boston.
F: Bernard King
As a Brooklyn native born three weeks before Christmas ... the holiday observing the birth of Jesus Christ ... King was born to make an impact on Dec. 25. King left an undeniable mark on the holiday in 1984, when the Knicks took on their cross-river rivals (and King's future employers) from New Jersey. Though the Knicks fell 120-114 (former Knicks Michael Ray Richardson played all 48 minutes and scored 36 points), King set a Christmas record with 60 points, hitting 19-of-30 from the field. Hard luck against the Nets was, unfortunately, a bit of a holiday tradition for King, who also saw a 32-point overtime effort in 1982 (14-of-20 shooting) go to waste in a 112-110 loss though he got the best of New Jersey in the following year (29 points in, amazingly enough, a 112-110 win, that also took extra period).
G: Walt Frazier
Well-known for dressing in his Christmas best on a near-nightly basis thanks to his long-running duties as MSG Network's color commentator for Knicks games, Frazier came to play in front of the Christmas cameras, posting four double-doubles in a Knicks-record 10 appearances (an attendance record he shares with Bill Bradley and Carl Braun). Capable of hardwood sorcery as it was, Frazier must've borrowed some of Santa's magic in 1971, when he put in 36 points on 14-of-17 shooting in a 114-89 win over Golden State.
G: Richie Guerin
No one's scored more on Christmas in the history of the Knicks than Guerin, who tallied 193 over nine working holidays. His most notable effort came in 1961, when he helped the Knicks overcome one of the most dominant performances in both Association and holiday history: Wilt Chamberlain had 59 points and 36 rebounds for the Philadelphia Warriors, but Guerin's 40 (to go with 10 rebounds) was enough to pace the Knicks to a 136-135 double overtime victory.
Reserve: Jalen Brunson
Brunson feels destined to hold a spot in the starting five on this list sooner rather than later: things started modestly enough last season, as Brunson had a 23-point, 11-assist double-double in a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. But Brunson paved the way to a major victory for the Knicks, firmly establishing himself as New York's franchise face with a 38-point output that not only placed him among metropolitan royalty but was also earned with but one three-pointer. It'll be hard for Brunson to knock his predecessors from their holiday perch, but leaving him off feels like not calling "Die Hard" a Christmas movie.
Reserve: Raymond Felton
Another one-holiday wonder, Felton was a headliner on both sides of the ball for the Knicks when they faced the Chicago Bulls in 2010. In addition to a 20-point, 12-assist double-double (part holder of a Knicks record in the latter part), Felton knew how to pick a man's pocket on the 25th of December, picking up five steals in the 103-95 win over Chicago.
Reserve: Mark Jackson
Jackson is well-used to holding a prescience on Christmas, primarily from the announcers' table thanks to his former duties with ABC/ESPN. He played only two Christmas games with the Knicks, but the latter was quite impressive: at age 36, Jackson fell one rebound short of a triple-double in a 102-94 win over Toronto, scoring 13 and dishing 11 assists. Jackson also partly holds the record for most metropolitan assists in a single Christmas game (sharing it with Felton, among others) with 12 in 1987's loss to Detroit.
Reserve: Enes Kanter Freedom
Freedom also played only two Christmas games with the Knicks, but had one of the more memorable individual outings in the metropolitan history of the holiday: in a 105-98 loss to Philadelphia in 2017 (ending a 29-year moratorium on the most common Christmas matchup), Freedom pulled in 22 rebounds, besting Ewing's 17 in the aforementioned 1986 win over the Bulls to set a Knicks Christmas record. He also served as the Knicks leading scorer that afternoon with 31.
Reserve: Julius Randle
Though the Knicks fell to the 76ers on Sunday, Randle's becoming more of a must-see Christmas television than Rudolph. After a 25-point, 12-rebound debut in a vengeful win over Atlanta in 2021 (avenging the five-game playoff loss in the prior postseason), Randle joined the ranks of King, Guerin, Anthony, and Frazier as the only New Yorkers to score 35 on Christmas in last year's loss to Philadelphia.
Reserve: Michael Ray Richardson
Before he came the Knicks' own version of The Grinch ... stealing Christmas joy as a member of the Nets ... Richardson was a brief mainstay in New York's holiday affairs. Like those of Anthony's, Richardson's squads struggled to get wins but he had plenty of highlights on his end. In perhaps an interesting bit of hardwood irony, Richardson came up big when the Knicks topped New Jersey in 1979, putting up 14 points, 10 assists, and six steals in a 131-102 win. He moved across the river in 1983 and played his final three seasons in the Garden State, running into the Knicks on Christmas on several occasions.
Reserve: Rory Sparrow
The Giants and Jets aren't known for playing on Christmas, but Sparrow has them well-covered in terms of crucial passes: along with Jackson, he's also partly responsible for two of the six occasions where a New Yorker had at least 10 assists on Christmas and he's one of four record sharers with the fateful 12 (along with Felton, Jackson, and Kemba Walker). Though Sparrow's performances were often overshadowed ... he had a double-double during King's 60-point showing and 22 points when Ewing conquered the Celtics ... he was a reliable contributor as the Knicks went 3-1 in his four Yuletide showings.
Honorable Mention: Hollis Copeland
A New Jersey native and Rutgers alum, Copeland lasted just 93 games in the NBA, all of them with the Knicks, thanks to injuries. Copeland made the most out of his holiday opportunity in the aforementioned 1979 victory over the Nets: in addition to 12 points, Copeland packed the defensive box score with five steals and three blocks in the 131-102 victory.
