Ranking NBA Christmas Day performances: Where does Luka Doncic's 50-point game rank?

2. Luka Doncic - 2023

As aforementioned, Luka Doncic's 50-point performance against the Phoenix Suns the other day was arguably the greatest Christmas Day performance ever. Doncic accomplished multiple statistical feats on the day, but his greatest one came when he hit an insanely deep 3-pointer to surpass 10,000 career points toward the tail end of the first quarter.

Doncic had one of his more dynamic performances as a Maverick by shooting 15-25 from the field and making all 12 of his free throws, and he helped Dallas outscore Phoenix 37-22 in the final period to put the game away in decisive fashion. Doncic got his teammates involved to a premium with 15 assists, and he served as the complete epicenter of the Mavericks' offense through all four quarters. Doncic is coming through in almost every clutch moment for Dallas this year, and he stepped up to the stage when the lights were the brightest as he continues to further his MVP campaign.

Doncic's Christmas Day performance was especially spectacular when you consider that he was on the road, and he likely would much rather spend time with his fiancee and new daughter on Christmas.

Doncic was able to carry the Mavericks to a win even though they've had multiple players out due to key injuries recently, and fellow Mavericks superstar Kyrie Irving was more excited than anyone for Doncic's performance.

Irving understands the significance of what Doncic was able to do because he's been in plenty of crazy Christmas Day games before. Irving also played with Kevin Durant who was on the other side of things for the Suns, so it must've made Irving awe-struck to see Doncic dominate Booker and Durant even though he wasn't able to play himself.

Doncic's Christmas Day performance is about as good as it gets, but the last candidate on our list went absolutely bonkers on Christmas Day.