Christmas Day games always tend to include marquee matchups between the NBA’s biggest names and teams.
This season is no different with the usual suspects of LeBron James, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, amongst others, all lacing them up to go along with Christmas Day newcomers, Anthony Edwards and Victor Wembanyama.
Christmas Day is a stage for the league’s brightest stars and biggest names.
A day filled with pure theater.
But this year’s slate of games and stars will have to go some way to eclipse the pure drama and theatre of the 2004 Christmas Day spectacle between the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat which saw Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal face off as opponents for the first time after going their separate ways.
Between 1996-2004 Kobe and Shaq formed the most dynamic and formidable one-two punch in NBA history.
They won three consecutive championships in 2000, 2001, and 2002, but in 2004, amid personal differences and conflicts over their respective roles on the team, Shaq was traded to Miami while Kobe re-signed with the Lakers as a free agent.
The feud rumbled on for years and it just so happened they would meet for the first time in a Christmas Day cracker at Staples Center in 2004.
Tensions were running high before the game after Shaq was asked about meeting Kobe at the rim should he drive down the lane against him.
“He’s a Corvette, I’m a brick wall,” O’Neal said in typically droll fashion.
The 21-7 Miami Heat arrived into Los Angeles led by O’Neal and Dwayne Wade while the 14-11 Lakers were heavily reliant on Bryant as they rebuilt in the years post-Shaq.
What followed was an epic back-and-forth encounter where Kobe finished with 42 points, six rebounds, and three assists.
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Shaq had 24 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out after picking up numerous fouls on Bryant.
Luckily he had a future Hall of Famer alongside him as Wade chipped in with 29 points and ten assists to clinch a 104-102 overtime victory for the Heat.
Despite the Heat’s win, most of the chatter post-game centered around Kobe’s stellar performance where he very nearly carried a weakened Lakers team to victory over the championship-caliber Heat.
It was one of the most memorable Christmas Day thrillers in modern history and between 1998-2008 was the most-watched regular season NBA game in terms of television ratings.
Both Shaq and Kobe were reluctant to pour fuel on the fire of their rivalry straight after, with the latter simply saying, “I knew there was a lot of talk about the brick wall and all that, but I think that was kind of just to hype the game. Hopefully, this is all behind us now.”
O’Neal was similarly indifferent towards the situation, adding: “I’m over it. It’s old news to me.”
Things remained frosty between the pair for several years but they eventually reconciled their relationship as they matured.
They would come head-to-head many more times during their careers but none were quite as spiky as that Christmas Day clash in 2004.
