Merry Christmas! Knicks to Play Xmas Day: Who Will They Face?

Mark your calendars!

Jeremy Brener | Aug 15, 2022

Merry Christmas, New York Knicks fans!

The NBA announced that the Knicks will return to the Christmas Day slate once again.

This year, the Knicks face James Harden, Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Sixers are expected to be one of the top contenders in the Eastern Conference this season and the Knicks will have a chance to stuff their stockings with coal at Madison Square Garden.

If this year's game is anything like last year's, the Knicks will be in for quite the treat. Last season, Kemba Walker became the first player in franchise history to record a triple-double on Christmas Day as the Knicks beat the Atlanta Hawks 101-87.

Playing on Christmas Day is a tradition the Knicks helped start back in 1947, when they beat the Providence Steamrollers in New York. Since then, the Knicks have participated in 55 of the league's 76 years. As a franchise, the Knicks are 23-31 on Christmas.

The Knicks are expected to play in the 2:30 p.m. slot and follow the first game where the Milwaukee Bucks will face the reigning Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics.

After the Knicks and Sixers game ends, three Western Conference games are expected to take place ... Chris Paul's Phoenix Suns vs. Nikola Jokic's Denver Nuggets ... LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers vs. Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks ... and Ja Morant's Memphis Grizzlies vs. the reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors.

The rest of the NBA schedule is expected to come out later this month.

Published Aug 15, 2022

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.