This year, on Christmas Day, the Warriors faced off against the Dallas Mavericks, beating them 126-116.
The Warriors, ever-popular since the beginning of the dynasty, have played on Christmas every year for the past 13 years straight.
Draymond Green, 35 years old, has not been able to enjoy Christmas Day with his family since 2012 — his rookie season.
“Playing on Christmas Day also f*cking sucks. And the reason it sucks is, number one, what I—what I just said, uh, it can affect your mood,” Draymond said on his podcast before this year’s Christmas game. “Number two, we are human beings and, just like everyone else, enjoy Christmas Day with our families. That kinda gets messed up for us. Um, they’re in their homes or on vacation with their families, makin’ memories. We don’t—we don’t get that opportunity. So I hate when people are like, ‘Oh man, it’s an honor to play on Christmas Day.’ People should shut up. Like, no—you should shut up, because whether you played on Christmas Day or not, I don’t—I don’t really care about the perspective.”
It brings in the ratings, but Draymond’s perspective makes sense — maybe the league should give a little holiday time off to the teams they schedule on Christmas every year. Although NBA Christmas games are an important tradition, the players deserve to get to participate in their own holiday traditions, too.