‘Last frontier’: NBL schedules basketball clash for Christmas Day in Australian sporting first

The “last frontier” of Australian sport scheduling will be broken down this year with a professional contest to be played on 25 December for the first time.

In a move that will delight those who believe there can never be enough sport to consume all year round, the NBL has scheduled a basketball clash between fierce rivals the Sydney Kings and Melbourne United for Christmas Day.

The historic match will tip off at 7.30pm AEDT at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena in what has been labelled as a “gamechanger” for Australian sport, with Sydney co-owner and chairman Paul Smith saying the innovation better reflected a diverse Australian society.

“It’s the last scheduling frontier in sport in Australia,” Smith said. “We are a changing society. Christmas isn’t a holy event for all of us, and it can be a lonely day for a lot of people. So to be able to come out to a world-class venue for a world-class game of hoops, or just watching the Sydney Kings at home on TV, it’s a gamechanger.”

While NBA games on 25 December have been played in the US for many years, the day has until now remained sport-free in Australia. Cricket’s Big Bash League considered holding a Christmas Day game in 2019 but ultimately opted against the idea after an unfavourable reception from players.

Major sporting contests are held either side of 25 December; the traditional Boxing Day Test match at the MCG is one of the country’s most celebrated sporting events, and this year the NBL will put on a Christmas Eve game between the Adelaide 36ers and South East Melbourne Phoenix.

NBL commissioner, Jeremy Loeliger, said emulating the success of the NBA’s Christmas Day games – which have been an annual tradition since the league’s second season in 1947 – was a major factor