NBA: Ranking the 12 best Christmas Day performances in history

4. Rick Barry (1966)

Being a basketball junkie, I know that Rick Barry and Oscar Robertson are all-time greats. Scoring 50 points in a game is a big deal and that’s exactly what Barry did in this game. It broke Jerry West’s three-year-old record for the most points scored on Christmas Day by one player.

It’s an even bigger deal when that performance comes against a guy like Robertson. The Big “O” scored 38 points but couldn’t top the performance from Rick Barry as the Warriors beat the Cincinnati Royals (yes, that was a team) 124-112.

3. Tracy McGrady (2003)

McGrady had a knack for big Christmas day performances. This one came at the expense of then-rookie LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Magic superstar poured in 41 points, dished out 11 assists, grabbed eight boards, and had three steals. T-Mac also contributed to 12 of the Magic’s 14 points in overtime via scoring and assists. James played well in his first Christmas Day game by contributing 34 points, but the Magic won 113-101.

This was a year after McGrady scored 46 points against the Detroit Pistons in a 2002 Christmas Day win.