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NBA players Christmas Day Buzz

• Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal are the active leaders in Christmas Day games, having played in 11 each. That’s more Christmas Day appearances than 17 of the 30 current franchises. Derek Fisher (7) is the only other active player who has played in roughly half that many Christmas Day games.
• Bryant has played more games on Dec. 25 than he has on any other date on the calendar. There are only three dates on the calendar that Shaq has played more games than he has on Christmas: March 12 (12), March 15 (12) and March 26 (13).
• Shaq and Kobe played five Christmas games together (they went 2-3) and two against each other (not including 2006 when Shaq missed the Lakers-Heat matchup with an injury). So when the Cavs and Lakers meet in L.A. this year, the two will have shared the spotlight eight times on Christmas. Shaq has won both head-to-head matchups, but that’s was back when he was with Miami.
• In Bryant’s first Christmas Day game as a rookie in 1996, he had more fouls (one) than points (zero).
• Bryant has nine Christmas Day 3-pointers on 45 attempts from downtown. Steve Nash has 10 (tied with Scottie Pippen as the all-time leader) on 16 attempts.
• Pippen was undefeated (7-0) in Christmas Day games, including two games (1993 and 1994) during Michael Jordan’s first retirement. In that second game without Jordan, Pippen had 36 points, 16 rebounds, three assists, five steals and two blocks, playing all 53 minutes of an overtime win over the Knicks in Chicago.
• Jordan played in just six Christmas Day games. He lost the first one in New York in 1986, but won the other five, all at home. He had somewhat below-normal numbers on Christmas: 28.3 ppg, 44.3 percent shooting, 1-for-11 from 3-point range. His Christmas high was 42 points in a win over the Knicks in 1992.
• Oscar Robertson is the all-time leader in Christmas Day points (377) and assists (145 — more than twice the total of anyone else). In 12 Christmas Day games, he averaged 31.4 points, 8.3 rebounds and 12.1 assists.
• Tracy McGrady has the fifth-highest Christmas Day point total and the highest since Bernard King’s record 60 points in 1984. McGrady had 46 for the Magic in a win over the Pistons in 2002. He has topped that total 11 times in his career (his career high is 62), but his 18 free throws that day are the most he’s ever made in a game.