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Ramona Shelburne, ESPN senior writer
Kevin Durant was on the Phoenix court, warming up for an extra 8:30 p.m. kickoff for the NBA’s Christmas Day finale, when Stephen Curry and LeBron James were putting the finishing touches on the fourth thriller of the NBA’s greatest day. NBA season. until now. Yet somehow Durant knew exactly how important that day had been for the league.
“Today was a step in the right direction to get people excited about the game of basketball again,” Durant told ESPN during a wide-ranging interview after leading the Phoenix Suns to a 110-100 victory over the Denver Nuggets. . “Hopefully it’s not just because it’s Christmas. Hopefully they stay invested in the game, invested in every player, every team for the rest of the season and not just in the playoffs or the finals.
“I want to see the people, the audience. I want to see everything get better again. The league isn’t going anywhere, but we’re in a rough patch when it comes to that.”
The NBA has been the subject of particularly negative discourse for much of this season, with conversations about its style of play, how many three-pointers teams are taking, stars missing games or simply not putting in any kind of effort on the weekend. of the All-Star Game. and many other questions. But the Christmas Day games offered a reminder of how good the game can still be. Four of the five games came down to the final minute, and the average margin was just five points, the lowest for a Christmas with at least five games in NBA history.
Each game had an exciting ending, with young stars like San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama (42 points, 18 rebounds), Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards (26 points) and Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey (33 points, 12 assists) delivering standout performances alongside the Durant’s old guard. (27 points), Kyrie Irving (39 points), Curry (38 points) and James (31 points).
The biggest plays were made by role players like the Lakers’ Austin Reaves, who eclipsed Curry’s heroics with a game-winning layup past Andrew Wiggins, and New York’s Josh Hart, whose rebounding and defense sealed the Knicks’ victory. on Wembanyama and an inspired Spurs group.
And it seemed like everyone knew how important he was to the league.
“I love the NFL, but Christmas is our day,” James told ABC’s Lisa Salters after the Lakers’ win over the Warriors. He even turned around and looked directly at the camera to emphasize his point.
James is well aware that the NFL has encroached on the NBA’s territory in recent years. This year, the NFL put two featured games (and a halftime show with Beyoncé) on Netflix in front of the NBA’s roster. James woke up determined to reclaim that territory.
“Not having uniforms on Christmas Day anymore really sucks!” Jaime published in X. “It was a great feeling to walk into the locker room and see them.”
Over the summer, James had conducted a joint interview with Curry and Durant during their epic Olympic run in France that NBA Entertainment published ahead of the Christmas Day schedule. It was melancholic and nostalgic. Retirement was openly discussed. So were the legacies. The message was clear: that fans should enjoy these guys while they can because they won’t be around much longer.
The conclusion, however, was discouraging: What is the NBA going to do once he’s gone?
James and Curry continued to lean on that message again Wednesday night after their latest head-to-head battle.
“It’s always a marvel. The competitive history, the spirit, the greatness of it. It allows me to appreciate everything we’ve been through and the back-and-forth battles,” Curry said. “In 2024, I’ll still be doing it and in some ways the games are pretty electric and must-see TV. I love it… That’s why it sucks to lose, because these are those moments that matter a little more.”
James was even more direct. When asked by ESPN’s Dave McMenamin what’s best about the NBA today, he said simply: “LeBron and Steph“.
As Durant walked from the arena into the still-warm Phoenix night at 11 p.m., he took on a different tone. The 36-year-old veteran, who came into the league 17 years ago on a Seattle team that no longer exists, said he doesn’t like to think of himself, Curry and James as the defining players of their era because he ignores Hall’s future. of fame James Harden and Russell Westbrook, with whom he reached his first NBA Finals in 2012 with the Oklahoma City Thunder. That team never returned to the Finals (and Harden was traded to Houston before the following season), but the Thunder won 219 games over the next four years before Durant left for Golden State.
“I feel like fans just want free agency and drama and only care about the playoffs and the Finals and what that means for someone’s legacy,” he said. “Then they are programmed to only think about that, which has made them not want to worry about the regular season.”
But he doesn’t blame them either, in a divided media environment where the NBA competes for attention not only against other television shows but also against streaming networks and social media platforms.
“So to consume a January night game, Charlotte Hornets vs. the Atlanta Hawks or Phoenix Suns vs. the Golden State Warriors, which isn’t on national television? You could just follow the stats,” Durant said.
“My thing is, you can’t screw up the product and think people are going to value it like some of the shows do. We’re all supposed to be on the same team. But it feels like everyone’s colliding. Now we’re trying to getting more attention for everyone, rather than just trying to move the game in the right direction.
For at least one day, the NBA was moving in the right direction. The games were great. The players were dynamic. Not just the three superstars who have led the league for two decades, but also the young players who will be handed it over very soon.
If there are lessons to be learned from what went right on Christmas, Durant will be among those looking for them, hoping to change the narrative around the league as the calendar turns to 2025.
“I take this seriously and I don’t know why people don’t want to see us play anymore or why they don’t like the 3-point line or what the real problem is,” he said. “I’m trying to think about it and understand it. I love this game. I want it to continue.”
