NBA Christmas Day gift

It’s a day each year that I have grown to look forward to as young kid and even now as a thirty plus adult, Christmas. Thinking back when I started my career I’ve always had Christmas day off from work, like most of you. Opening gifts, drinking eggnog, and eating a buffet style dinner, nothing work relate there.  In the world of sports, mostly basketball, over the past decade athletes have been taken away from their families and traditions, for another tradition playing on Christmas Day.  The National Basketball Association seeks to capitalize on their high profile players and teams. I cannot fault them for that. This year that means Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and the Boston Celtics will be working on Christmas.  For the Los Angeles Lakers and Kobe Bryant playing on Christmas Day is nothing unexpected.  For a better understanding on how often the Lakers play on the winter holiday, this year will mark the 13^th Christmas Day game for Bryant a 15 year veteran. Bryant and the rest of the Lakers must open gifts, put batteries in toys, and eat Christmas cookies all before you and I start the cleanup process from all the wrapping paper. Lakers coach, Phil Jackson had this to say about playing on Christmas “It used to be Phoenix and L.A. and New York and Boston and New York or Philly or somebody on the East Coast….Now, I see they have like six games on Christmas. It’s like Christian holidays don’t mean anything to (the NBA) anymore. You just go out and play and entertain TV. It’s really weird.” This begs the question, does anyone care if a sporting event is on television or not. Would we be ok with watching ‘A Christmas Story’ over…over…and over again? As a fan of sports I see the value and opportunity to market to a national audience however at some point they, NBA, needs to cut back showcasing the same teams year after year. Kobe, Shaq, and now LeBron should be allowed to stay at home open gifts, find batteries, and eat Christmas. Allow the new breed of NBA talent a shot at the big stage. Until next time live out your DREAMS with some Determination, put forth Real Efforts and given your Abilities; Mean you will have Success.