The Raptors are getting the Christmas Day snub from the NBA

Does the NBA think we don’t get Christmas up here?

Canada’s only NBA team is getting snubbed, as the Toronto Raptors will once again be watching from home while the other five marquee matchups take place on December 25.

If ever there was a time to include the Raptors on the Christmas Day schedule, it was this year. Guess it’ll never happen unless they ever acquire LeBron James.

For the 17th straight year the Raptors won't be playing on Christmas Day. Toronto management/ownership pushed hard, I’m told. The NBA has its reasons, all of them business-related, but that doesn’t mean it sits well with Canada’s team, or its fans.

— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) August 8, 2018

According to reports, this is what the 2018 Christmas Day schedule will look like:

Boston Celtics vs Philadelphia 76ers
Milwaukee Bucks vs New York Knicks
Los Angeles Lakers vs Golden State Warriors
Portland Trail Blazers vs Utah Jazz
Oklahoma City Thunder vs Houston Rockets

While most professions would welcome an opportunity to not have to work on Christmas, that’s not the case in the NBA. The December 25 games get a lot of attention, and they’re meaningful for players.

“You get the special shoes. The Christmas jerseys. That’s one I want to frame one day. Hopefully, I get the opportunity to do it,” said Kyle Lowry after getting snubbed last year.

Following a 59-win season to top the NBA’s Eastern Conference, the summer soap opera surrounding the Raptors has been captivating. They fired the Coach of the Year and traded their best and most loyal player.

On paper, they’ve improved. If DeMar DeRozan wasn’t a big enough name, then Kawhi Leonard certainly should be.

Just an idea, but wouldn’t this be the perfect time to have DeRozan play his first game back in Toronto with his new team? I’d watch that.

Playing in one of the league’s biggest markets, complete with the celebrity of Drake sitting courtside, if the Raptors called anywhere in the United States home, they’d most certainly be playing on Christmas.

But they don’t, so they’re not.

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