For many sports fans, watching the NBA on Christmas Day has become a tradition. The league has been playing on Dec. 25 since 1947, but for the first time in NBA history it also will mark the beginning of the regular season. On Sunday, five star-studded games will be shown on three networks. The games are Celtics at Knicks, Heat at Mavericks, Bulls at Lakers, Magic at Thunder and Clippers at Warriors.
And the ESPN/ABC lead broadcast team of Mike Breen and Jeff Van Gundy will be calling two games. They will broadcast the Mavericks-Heat NBA Finals rematch in Dallas, then get on a plane and finish the night at the Clippers-Warriors game in Oakland.
| Christmas schedule |
| Celtics at Knicks |
| When » Sunday, noon |
| TV » TNT |
| Heat at Mavericks |
| When » Sunday, 2:30 p.m. |
| TV » ABC |
| Bulls at Lakers |
| When » Sunday, 5 p.m. |
| TV » ABC |
| Magic at Thunder |
| When » Sunday, 8 p.m. |
| TV » ESPN |
| Clippers at Warriors |
| When » Sunday, 10:30 p.m. |
| TV » ESPN |
Breen and Van Gundy will have the chance to call former partner Mark Jackson’s first regular-season game as coach at Golden State.
“When the schedule first came out, the original schedule, [the Clippers and Warriors] were the second game on ESPN’s opening night,” Breen said. “And we had thought, oh, it would be so great to be able to do that game, but there was also a Heat game that was supposed to open up the season for ABC, and we knew we were going to wind up doing that game. So we were disappointed that we couldn’t be there for [Jackson’s] first game. So as much as nobody enjoyed the lockout, it kind of gave us a chance to do his first game now, and I’m just absolutely thrilled to be able to go out there. I’m so grateful that ESPN decided to do it. In fact, when they asked me, I thought they were kidding at first.”
Examiner columnist Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer. Check out his blog, Watch this!, on washingtonexaminer.com.
