When it comes to Thanksgiving, the NBA concedes the day to the NFL, where millions tune in to watch the annual Turkey-Day games live.
It wasn’t always like that.
There was a time when the NBA had its share of the Thanksgiving Day pie. Of course, those games are quite rare… but they did happen.
Better yet, there have been some really spectacular performances on some of those days as well, by some of our favorite stars.
In commemoration of these times, we’re going to count down the five greatest Thanksgiving Day performances of All-Time (special shout out to Reddit user backcourtstats for the idea).
1. Wilt Chamberlain, 1964
Fifty-four years ago, Wilt put on the unarguable greatest Thanksgiving Day game ever, posting 63 points, 32 rebounds and 3 assists in a loss against the Philadelphia 76ers.
True, he lost, but those numbers are just ridiculous!
2. Oscar Robertson, 1963
The triple-double king went off for 38 points, 16 assists, and 11 rebounds against Philly, becoming just one of his 181 total triple-double nights.
He may have not been feasting at home, but he sure was feasting on that court.
3. Wilt Chamberlain, 1960
This is going way back, but it still stands unmatched. On this night, Chamberlain tallied 34 points with a whopping 55 rebounds against the Boston Celtics.
These days, we couldn’t even dream of grabbing that many boards, but for him it was just another night.
4. Andre Miller, 2002
Not a name you’d expect to see here, but he had one heck of a game back in the early 2000s. Andre Miller was amazing against the New Jersey Nets that night. Los Angeles Clippers defeated them 126-118 after OT.
On that Thankful holiday, he totaled 37 points, 16 assists, and 3 rebounds on 58% shooting. He was probably super thankful that night.
5. Elgin Baylor, 1961
Yeah, Elgin Baylor was a good ball player. But something about Thanksgiving just lit this guy on up. Lo Angeles Lakers defeated St, Louis Hawks 122-114, and Elgin Baylor was the best player on the court.
His best performance came in ‘61, when he dropped 40 in a W for the Los Angeles Lakers. Boy, what we’d give to see that one!
