Christmas is here, and while giving and receiving gifts and spending time with friends and family are commonly associated with the holiday, so is basketball. Ever since 1947, the NBA has held games on Christmas day, providing entertainment for basketball lovers worldwide in addition to the holiday’s festivities.
One guy who played on Christmas quite a bit throughout his NBA career was Michael Jordan, and back in 1986, he opened up on what Christmas meant to him and how he celebrated the holiday.
MJ always loved Christmas as a kid
His Airness is widely regarded as the greatest basketball player of all time, but he enjoyed Christmas just like everybody else when the holiday season rolled around. As a kid, Jordan recalled always hoping that Santa Claus would show up and deliver the gifts he asked for and noted how things changed once he began to take basketball more seriously.
While in his third year in the NBA, he noted how he still keeps the holiday spirit alive by keeping in touch with his family and friends, even though he was sometimes involved in playing on the holiday.
“I think it was very hard for me to go to sleep on Christmas Eve, but you know, I was looking forward to getting up and opening my presents and hopefully having a bicycle or whatever Santa Claus was supposed to bring me. All of those Christmas days really was very special for me because I spent it with my family. I haven’t been able to do that in the last four or five years, but I’ve enjoyed myself and I stay in contact with them.” said Jordan.
Jordan managed to keep the Christmas spirit alive while in the NBA
Playing on Christmas day in the NBA can create a conundrum for the folks who celebrate the holiday, as they have to work their schedules around the game they are involved in. As Jordan notes, that resulted in him being unable to spend time on Christmas with his family, which always stinks.
But he managed to make up for it by still doing his best to keep in contact with him, and at the end of the day, that’s what Christmas is all about. Jordan only played in six Christmas Day games throughout his NBA career, which is less than some other guys have.
And in typical Jordan fashion, he managed to put on a show every time he took the floor to ensure everyone else could enjoy their holiday by watching some great basketball. It often seems like MJ is spoken of in rarified air, but he was human just like everyone else and always enjoyed Christmas time, even when he was away from his family playing basketball in the NBA.
