Inside The Spurs

NBA's Christmas Games Overshadow Lackluster NFL Games

NBA provides a day full of close, exciting games while the NFL's two Netflix games were anything but exciting.
Taylor Hodges|
San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan (10) grabs a rebound in the fourth quarter against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan (10) grabs a rebound in the fourth quarter against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

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For most of its history, the NBA hasn’t had any competition for viewers on Christmas Day. But that changed this year with the NFL scheduling two games on Christmas and Beyonce halftime show.

Fortunately, or unfortunately for the NFL, the pair of gridiron games paled in comparison the NBA’s all-day slate of games.

Of the five NBA games, four of the games were decided by six points or less and the fifth was a 10-point margin. Furthermore, each game had an exciting ending. The NFL, on Netflix, had two games that were never close with the Chiefs winning 29-10 against the Steelers and Baltimore crushing Houston 31-2.

"I love the NFL, but Christmas is our day," Lebron James told ABC's Lisa Salters after the Lakers' win over the Warriors.

It was about as close of a perfect day for the NBA as it could hope for and it started with San Antonio’s back-and-forth loss to the Knicks and Victor Wembanyama’s incredible performance. He scored the third-most points ever in a Christmas day-game debut and should expect to play in many more Christmas games.

The Spurs and Knicks set the tone for the rest of the NBA’s games and reminded sports fans that basketball can be just as exciting as a football game. It’d be interesting to see the viewership stats and see how many viewers watched NBA games and how many watched the NFL on Netflix. But it’s unlikely Netflix is going to release that stat.

The NFL is a behemoth of a league and doesn’t lose many viewership battles. But while the NFL was giving us coal, the NBA gave us gift on our wish list.

San Antonio Spurs On Sports Illustrated

Just A Minute: Analyzing the Spurs' Christmas Loss in New York

Spurs Give Christmas Gifts To Knicks in the Paint in Holiday Heartbreaker

Spurs Fall Short to Knicks Despite Stellar Performance from Victor Wembanyama

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Taylor Hodges
TAYLOR HODGES

Award-winning sports editor, writer, columnist, and photographer with 15 years’ experience offering his opinion and insight about the sports world in Mississippi and Texas, but he was taken to Razorback pep rallies at Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth before he could walk. Taylor has covered all levels of sports, from small high schools in the Mississippi Delta to NFL games. Follow Taylor on Twitter and Facebook.

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