Christmas Day has been a pretty important date on the NBA calendar in recent years, and not just because the league often schedules matchups between the best teams on that day.
Four of the last six champions owned the league's best record on Christmas.
Here's the full list, per ESPN Stats & Info:
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The Boston Celtics entered Sunday's Christmas matchup versus the Bucks at TD Garden with a half-game lead over Milwaukee in the league standings. Boston's advantage grew to 1.5 games after it defeated Milwaukee 139-118 in one of the Celtics' most impressive performances of the season.
This photo of Tatum's massive dunk on Giannis is incredible
The last time the Celtics won the NBA Finals was in 2008, and they had a league-best 22-3 record at Christmas that season. Boston ultimately finished with the top record at 66-16 and earned homecourt advantage in the 2008 NBA playoffs as a result, which helped them defeat the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals.
Boston Celtics
The Celtics have a strong chance to finish with the best record this season -- a feat they've accomplished only once since 1986. Twelve of the Celtics' 17 championships came during seasons in which they had the league's top record.
Boston's strong start to the 2022-23 campaign has been impressive, but there's a long, long way to go before the NBA Finals in June. A lot can change between now and then, and the standings in the East have gotten much tighter over the last couple weeks.
But the Celtics are definitely in a good spot as the calendar turns to 2023. In fact, they're in a much, much better position than they were at this point last season.