Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard bring the star power that the NBA likes to showcase on its annual Christmas Day schedule.
But they won’t be playing this Christmas. And Bucks players, including Antetokounmpo, are miffed they weren’t invited to the league’s annual holiday party. They spoke about their Christmas snub with The Athletic’s Eric Nehm for an article published Monday.
“I’m a little bit upset or kind of questioning it,” Antetokounmpo said. “But I really believe there’s probably an algorithm that takes place within the NBA that shows who is the most attractive team or which team gets the most attention for them to be able to play in the Christmas game. …
“We don’t get a Christmas game. Why? Because we got a small market? Maybe that’s the case. Or I want to believe what I tell you, I think there’s an algorithm within the NBA that they choose which team will get the most attention, the most viewership that day.”
Khris Middleton, who’s been with the Bucks alongside Antetokounmpo for six consecutive Christmas Day games, called the snub “disappointing.”
“Definitely disappointing,” Middleton said. “We always want to play on Christmas. It’s the biggest day in the NBA besides the playoffs and the Finals and whatnot.
“But I have a family now and kids, so now I can have a chance to open gifts without having to work the same day, so I’m definitely happy about that. But hopefully we won’t have too many more Christmases where we don’t play again.”
‘It’s disrespectful’
Bucks center Brook Lopez took it a step further. He takes being left off the Christmas schedule as a sign of disrespect from the NBA.
“A lot of teams play on Christmas, so it’s not like it’s two or four teams and we gotta figure out who we’re going to pick in these spots,” Lopez said. “No, they have a lot of games on Christmas. So, yeah, I do think it’s disrespectful, but I don’t make the schedule. I don’t know how that happened.”
So, who should be left out in favor of the Bucks?
The Christmas day schedule, as usual, features 10 teams playing five games. Spurs-Knicks will tip off the slate at noon ET, followed by Timberwolves-Mavericks, 76ers-Celtics, Lakers-Warriors and Nuggets-Suns.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are not on that list and arguably qualify as a bigger snub than the Bucks. Their absence suggests that Antetokounmpo might be on to something with his small-market theory.
When debating snubs, it’s prudent to consider who — or which team in this instance — should get the boot in favor of said snubbed party. Each of the teams playing on Christmas brings plenty of its own star power. But there’s one glaring do-over the NBA would surely consider if it had the chance — the Philadelphia 76ers.
Every team playing on Christmas but the 76ers has a winning record and looks like a playoff contender through roughly one-third of the NBA season. The 9-17 76ers don’t check either box. If the NBA could sub in the NBA Cup champion Bucks for the 76ers on Wednesday, it surely would. But that’s not how the NBA schedule works.
To be fair, the 76ers’ season has been derailed by injuries to their All-Star players. They weren’t supposed to be this bad. It’s also fair to suggest that a little bit of foresight from the schedule makers could have predicted the possibility of Joel Embiid and Paul George missing significant playing time and derailing Philadelphia’s season.
Alas, we’re stuck with the Sixers, and the Bucks will be at home spending the holiday with their families and watching games like much of the rest of America. Which, when put in those terms, doesn’t sound so bad.
“I’m pissed,” Antetokounmpo continued. “But I’m happy at the same time because I get to for the first time since 2017 — yeah, 2017 was the last time I actually spent Christmas like a regular person — I didn’t play a noon game. I get to, for once, sit on my couch and be entertained and watch NBA basketball, be entertained by other players and not the one doing the entertaining.
“So, yeah, I was pissed, but then 20 minutes later, I was like, ‘No Christmas game, huh? I get to spend the day with my kids and open presents.'”
