Celtics reportedly set to host 76ers on NBA's Christmas Day slate
BOSTON -- Christmas is a time of giving, and the NBA is giving us one of its oldest rivalries on the league's marquee day this year. Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics are set to host the Philadelphia 76ers at TD Garden on Christmas Day, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Celtics-76ers matchups usually have plenty of juice to them, but this year's Christmas Day showdown should have a bit more after the 76ers went out and signed Paul George in free agency to join franchise star Joel Embiid and emerging star Tyrese Maxey. Philadelphia president of basketball operations Darryl Morrey stoked the flames a little more when he said the 76ers aren't far off from the current champs, and will be coming to take the title away from them in 2024-25.
Things have been a bit one sided lately, as Boston has had Philly's number the last few years. The Celtics won three of four regular season matchups in each of the last two seasons, and also came back from a 3-2 series deficit against the 76ers in the 2022-23 Eastern Conference semis. The 76ers won all three regular season matchups in 2020-21 and took three of four in 2019-20, but sandwiched between that was a Celtics sweep of Philly in the first round of the playoffs in the NBA Bubble in Orlando.
Philadelphia is the Boston's second-biggest rival after the Los Angles Lakers, with clashes going back to the days days of Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain when the 76ers were known as the Warriors. The two teams first met in 1949, with Boston owning a 336-247 overall record against Philadelphia.
This will mark the ninth straight season that the Celtics will appear on the NBA's big day. They've won five of their previous eight Christmas Day games, including last year when the C's took down LeBron James and the Lakers in Los Angeles. The Celtics and the 76ers last met on Christmas Day in 2018 in Boston, when a 40-point effort by Kyrie Irving led the C's to a 121-114 victory.
The NBA's Christmas Day slate in 2024 will also include the San Antonio Spurs at the New York Knicks, the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Dallas Mavericks, the Los Angeles Lakers at the Golden State Warriors, and the Denver Nuggets at the Phoenix Suns, according to Charania.
The full 2024-25 NBA schedule is expected to be released within the next few weeks.