Kevin Durant made his Christmas Day debut during his rookie season.
Since then, the two-time NBA champion has been a regular feature on the league's marquee holiday games having played in 10 of a possible 11 games through 13 seasons.
He's represented the Oklahoma City Thunder in six games (2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015), including his rookie year as a Seattle SuperSonic. Of the remaining four, he has represented the Golden State Warriors in three (2016, 2017, 2018) games while in his most recent Christmas Day game, in 2020, he suited for the Brooklyn Nets.
The lone Christmas Day game that KD missed was in 2014, a season when he only played 27 games due to multiple right foot injuries.
Here is everything you need to know about Kevin Durant on Christmas.
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Kevin Durant's stats on Christmas Day
Durant has played 10 games on Christmas Day, posting averages of 29.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.1 blocks on 52.1 percent shooting from the field, 41.7 percent from beyond the arc and 85.7 percent from the free-throw line.
Across the 10 games, he has recorded five wins and five losses.
In seven of the 10 games, he's scored 29 or more and recorded his lone Christmas Day double-double in 2016.
Kevin Durant's records on Christmas Day
Kobe Bryant is the NBA's all-time leading scorer on Christmas Day with a total of 395 points while Durant's career tally of 299 points ranks fifth-best. The only other players he trails are LeBron James (2nd), Oscar Robertson (3rd) and Dwyane Wade (4th).
Among the top 10 all-time scorers on Christmas Day, Durant owns the best scoring average. Per Stathead, Durant's game score of 24.6 is the best all-time and his box plus-minus of 11.3 is second only to Kawhi Leonard's 11.6.
Another stat that he ranks atop the leaderboard is made 3-pointers. He and LeBron James are tied for the top spot with their 25 career 3-pointers on Christmas Day.
Kevin Durant's best games on Christmas Day
In just his second Christmas Day game, coming off the Thunder not playing on the holiday for two years, a young Durant exploded for 44 points against the Denver Nuggets in 2010.
The 44 points are the most scored on Christmas among active players.
A 22-year-old @KDTrey5 put the world on notice on Christmas Day 2010 with 44 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. #NBAXmas #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/eXLy6RFbgE
— The Players' Tribune (@PlayersTribune) December 25, 2018
Playing 41 minutes in this game, Durant shot a super-efficient 10-of-12 from the field including 4-of-7 from long distance while also knocking down 12 of his 15 free-throw attempts.
His next best game came in 2016 when he finished with 36 points and 15 rebounds as part of an epic Warriors-Cavaliers clash in Cleveland.
The 36 points are his second-most on Christmas Day while the 15 rebounds are his career-high for the marquee date on the calendar.
Will Kevin Durant play on Christmas 2021?
Durant will not play on Christmas Day against the Lakers, reports the Athletic's Charania on Dec. 24, just over 24 hours from tip-off.
James Harden, Paul Millsap and Jevon Carter exited protocols on Dec. 23, but Nets head coach Steve Nash said, "we are not expecting anyone else to come out of protocols [in time for the Christmas Day game], but it is possible"
"I think you have to do two negative tests 24 hours apart," he continued. "I guess that gives us to tonight and tomorrow night to return two negatives, but we are not predicting anybody to come out necessarily."
Kevin Durant's career highs on Christmas Day
Points: 44 (vs. Nuggets, 2010)
Rebounds: 15 (at Cavaliers, 2016)
Assists: 7 (vs. Bulls, 2015 and vs. Lakers, 2018)
Steals: 2 (4 times)
Blocks: 5 (vs. Cavaliers, 2017)
Field goals made: 14 (vs. Nuggets, 2010)
3-pointers made: 4 (vs. Nuggets, 2010 and at Knicks, 2013)
Free throws made: 12 (vs. Nuggets, 2010 and at Cavaliers, 2016)
Turnovers: 5 (vs. Nuggets, 2010)
