Joe Dumars remembers what it was like to play on Christmas Day, says it remains a privilege

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Joe Dumars remembers his first Christmas Day game well.

He was an integral part of the fast-rising Bad Boy Pistons, a team that had reached the Eastern Conference Finals the season before and looked poised to take another step forward. The NBA showcased those young Bad Boys on Christmas Day against Patrick Ewing, Mark Jackson and the Rick Pitino-led Knicks. What Dumars remembers was the excitement of getting the chance to be in one of the NBA’s brightest spotlights.

“The first one that I played in was at the Garden against the Knicks. I just remember being in New York on Christmas Eve,” Dumars told NBC Sports. “Christmas in New York is beautiful, and I just remember Christmas Eve being there and thinking that we’re going to be playing on national TV tomorrow, on Christmas day at the Garden.

“I just thought it was a really special time. I was extremely honored for myself and for my team to be playing on that day. It was really, really a big deal.”

Playing on Christmas “an honor”

Dumars was excited because his team was getting shown a new level of respect — and they went on to win that Christmas game, with Dumars scoring 19.

“It’s a privilege, for players and for teams and organizations,” Dumars said of playing on Christmas. “We highlight some of the best teams in the NBA on Christmas Day, and so when you’re on, when you’re playing on that day, it’s an honor.”

It still is that way, he said. Teams and players want to be showcased — the Oklahoma City Thunder players will tell anyone who will listen they took it personally this year that the league chose not to put their fast-rising young team in that spotlight.

“I would say that it really speaks to just how many good teams are out there that you can’t get every single team on Christmas day,” Dumars said. “There are teams that are deserving that you just end up making choices, and you only have so many slots. I’m just telling you, it’s a lot of young teams out there, man, that that that are deserving as well.”

It was an honor for those young Pistons to be playing on Christmas. They were just breaking into the consciousness of the casual fan and that season would go…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/joe-dumars-remembers-play-christmas-151853575.html

Author : NBC Sports

Publish date : 2024-12-24 15:18:00

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