Revisiting Suns' Christmas Day History

The Suns are set to play yet another game on the signature day of the NBA regular season.

Dec 23, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) reacts in the second half against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

PHOENIX -- Today is another opportunity for the Phoenix Suns to make a statement on the biggest stage of the NBA regular season.

The Suns are set to play their fourth consecutive Christmas Day game - this time against the Denver Nuggets, who just dismantled Phoenix by a score of 117-90 on Monday.

Despite this, the Suns will look to bounce back and regain momentum that has been lost in the last two weeks.

The Suns are 12-9 all-time on Christmas Day - having played every single Christmas from the franchise inception in 1968 to 1976. Phoenix went 8-1 in those games.

The Suns then went on to play on nine Christmas days between 1980 and 2009 - where they won 3 of those.

Ultimately, the focus here will be on the last five games - where they haven't found nearly the same magic as in the early days of the franchise.

2008: 91-90 Loss vs. San Antonio Spurs

This was a loss that perhaps defined the 2008-09 Suns - a team that fired head coach Terry Porter midseason and missed the postseason despite finishing 46-36.

Roger Mason Jr. hit a three-point shot with just 0.1 seconds on the clock to secure a Spurs' victory that was spearheaded by 27 points from Tony Parker and a dominant defensive effort from Tim Duncan.

The Suns also turned the ball over 14 times and only attempted 11 three-point looks - this team feels awfully similar to one that will be covered briefly.

2009: 124-93 Win vs. Los Angeles Clippers

This game was supposed to be much anticipated due to the arrival of Blake Griffin in the NBA - the luster was significantly weakened due to a season-ending injury the rookie suffered before playing even a minute of professional action.

The Suns completely dismantled a Chris Kaman-lead Clippers squad behind 26 Amar'e Stoudemire points - along with a balanced bench effort that included 18 from Jared Dudley, 13 from Goran Dragic, and 12 from Leandro Barbosa.

Phoenix rode the momentum from this victory into a 54-win season - and the last appearance beyond the first round of the playoffs prior to 2021.

2021: 116-107 Loss vs. Golden State Warriors

The Suns got a much-anticipated matchup against the team that eventually was crowned NBA champs in 2022 after reaching the Finals just five months prior themselves.

Golden State controlled a large portion of the game - but surges from Phoenix in each of the final three quarters put them in position to steal a victory despite an uncharacteristic 5-19 shooting performance from Devin Booker.

Ultimately, the Suns were unable to score over the final 3:01 of action - and a trio of Otto Porter Jr. baskets put the game on ice.

2022: 128-125 Loss vs. Denver Nuggets

This was perhaps the most fascinating of these five games - as a Booker injury early in this game forced Landry Shamet into the lineup.

The Suns battled - and were even in position to win the game - in the fourth quarter despite massive showings from Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon, and Jamal Murray.

The 31-point effort from Shamet, along with a massive double-double from Deandre Ayton and an efficient 18-point night from Damion Lee revived faith in fans that this team would fight through adversity the rest of the way.

Unfortunately, the Suns' inability to contain Denver's potent starting unit was the fatal flaw of the season - as the now Durant-lead squad fell to the Nuggets in six games in the Western Conference Semifinals.

2023: 128-114 Loss vs. Dallas Mavericks

The 2023-24 and 2008-09 Suns squads share many similarities.

Despite many concerns surrounding both squads - the Christmas Day losses were ones that truly started sounding alarms about inherent flaws in the respective teams - and both versions of the Suns ended up proving those concerns true.

A 50-point showing from Luka Doncic ultimately overshadowed valiant efforts from Grayson Allen (32 points) and Chimezie Metu (23 points, 19 rebounds) - this game was never truly competitive despite those commendable performances.

The 2024-25 Suns are looking to move to 15-14 insetad of taking the same path as last season's squad - who moved to 14-15 with the loss.

It'll likely take huge performances from both Durant - who had a quiet showing last year, and Bradley Beal - who missed the game altogether to out-duel Nikola Jokic, who is quite possibly enjoying the best offensive season of all-time to this point of the season.

Suns-Nuggets is set to tip off shortly after 8:30 PM Arizona time tonight - and will be dually broadcast on ABC/ESPN,