Cal Basketball: Jaylen Brown Chases KJ's Standard of 36 Points on Christmas Day

Former Golden Bears have shined on the holiday stage, others missed out.

Now in his sixth NBA season, Jaylen Brown will play his sixth Christmas Day game on Saturday when the Boston Celtics take on the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks in an 11:30 a.m. PT game on ABC.

The one-and-done former Cal standout has performed well on Dec. 25 the past two seasons after struggling his first three years.

In 2019, Brown scored 30 points on 10-for-13 shooting, with five 3-pointers, and had six rebounds and four assists in the Celtics’ 118-102 win over Toronto.

Jaylen Brown / Photo by David Butler II, USA Today

He scored 27 points on Christmas Day a year ago, but Kyrie Irving had 37 points and Kevin Durant 29 as the Brooklyn Nets claimed a 123-95 win over the Celtics.

A year after making his first All-Star appearance, it’s been an uneven season for Brown, who has missed a total of 14 games while dealing with COVID-19, knee soreness and hamstring tightness.

But he heads into Saturday with momentum, averaging 25.2 points in five games since returning. Brown scored 30 points against Philadelphia on Monday and had 34 against Cleveland on Wednesday.

Brown’s 30 points two years ago are the second-most any former Cal player has put up up on Christmas Day.

Here’s a look at how Golden Bears have performed in the NBA spotlight of Dec. 25:

KEVIN JOHNSON (1984-87): While KJ played 12 NBA seasons, he was on the court on Christmas Day just twice. But he made the first of those two appearances count.

In 1993, playing for the Phoenix Suns, Johnson scored 36 points in a 111-91 win over the Houston Rockets. It’s the most points ever by a Cal alum on Christmas. Johnson also had nine assists, three rebounds and two steals while teammate Charles Barkley posted 38 points and 18 rebounds.

It was enough for the Suns to overcome Hakeem Olajuwon, who had 27 points, 13 rebounds, six assists, four blocked shots and three steals.

Phil Chenier / Photo by Manny Rubio, USA Today

PHIL CHENIER (1970-71): No Cal player enjoyed more success on Christmas than the Berkeley-born guard, who was 6-0 with the Baltimore, Capital or Washington Bullets. Chenier averaged 18.2 points in those six holiday games.

His best performance may have come in 1973, when he scored 24 points and the Bullets topped the New York Knicks 102-100, despite a 27-point performance by Walt Frazier.

Chenier scored double digits in five of his six Christmas games, also including 23 points in a win over Atlanta in 1977.

Jason Kidd / Photo by Jerome Miron, USA Today

JASON KIDD (1993-94): An All-American as a sophomore at Cal, the future Hall of Famer laced ‘em up on Christmas just four times in his 19 NBA seasons. And he had to wait for his ninth year to finally get the chance.

With the New Jersey Nets in 2002, Kidd had 16 points and 11 assists in a 117-81 rout of the Celtics on the way to an appearance that season in the NBA Finals.

On Christmas 2011, Kidd was back in Dallas with the team that drafted him. He scored nine points in a loss to the Miami Heat in which LeBron James put up 37. But Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki got the last laugh, winning the NBA title that season.

Kidd will be on the bench Saturday in Salt Lake City, coaching the Mavs against the Utah Jazz.

Ryan Anderson / Photo by Soobum Im, USA Today

RYAN ANDERSON (2007-08): The sharpshooting forward played parts of 12 NBA seasons and averaged 13.6 points and 6.8 rebounds in five Christmas Day games.

He scored double figures of four those, including a 25-point, 10-rebound performance in 2011. But Kevin Durant scored 30 and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat Anderson and the Orlando Magic 97-89.

DARRALL IMHOFF (1958-60): The star center on coach Pete Newell’s 1959 national championship team, Imhoff went on to a 12-year NBA career that included seven Christmas Day games with five different teams.

Imhoff averaged 8.7 points and 8.6 rebounds in those seven games, including some memorable outings.

With the Lakers in 1965, Imhoff had seven points and 16 rebounds to complement Jerry West’s 44 points in a 115-106 win over Detroit. In ’68, he had 11 points and 14 rebounds for Philadelphia in a 110-109 loss to the New York Knicks. And a year later, playing for the Cincinnati Royals, Imhoff contributed 17 points and 15 rebounds to a 117-100 win over Cleveland.

Wilt Chamberlain / Photo by Malcolm Emmons

But the wildest of his Christmas Day games had to be in 1961 with the Knicks, and not because of anything Imhoff did. Wilt Chamberlain recorded 59 points and 36 rebounds . . . and New York still beat Philly, 136-135. It was one of 45 games that season where the Dipper scored at least 50.

It also was a precursor to their rematch on March 2, when Chamberlain scored a record 100 points against the Knicks in a 169-147 victory at Hershey, Pennsylvania.  Imhoff, who had the misfortune of trying to guard Wilt at times, wound up with seven points and six rebounds before fouling out in 20 minutes.

As rough as Imhoff had it against Chamberlain, at least he got the chance to make multiple Christmas appearances. Other Cal players weren’t so fortunate.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim played 12 NBA seasons without ever stepping on the court on Christmas. Lamond Murray had one Dec. 25 game in 11 seasons, and managed just two points in 4 1/2 minutes for the Toronto Raptors.

Allen Crabbe played parts of seven seasons without a Christmas game. Leon Powe, Charles Johnson and Mark McNamara each got just one chance on the holiday stage.

Cover photo of Kevin Johnson, alongside Suns teammate Charles Barkley, by USA Today Sports

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo