A look back at some of the best holiday sporting moments of all time 

While for many, the holiday season is about taking time away from the rush of everyday life to spend with family and loved ones, the world of professional sports does anything but slow down.

The NBA, English Premier League and NFL are just some of the leagues that continue to entertain sports lovers around the world through the holiday season.

From Kobe and Shaq facing off against each other for the first time ever on Christmas Day in 2004, to 66 goals being scored on Boxing Day in the English top-flight's 1963/64 season, here are some of Olympics.com’s favourite holiday sporting moments of all time.

Kobe vs Shaq: opponents for the very first time, Christmas Day 2004

After eight years and three championships together at the Los Angeles Lakers, it was Christmas Day in 2004 that saw the legendary Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal face off as opponents for the very first time.

Following the 2003-2004 season, O’Neal was traded to the Miami Heat, while Bryant re-signed with the Lakers. To make it all the more exciting, this face-off came after nearly a decade-long rivalry between the two stars as they both served successful seasons with the Lakers, so the world couldn’t wait to see them go head-to-head.

The game was tight and went into overtime after Bryant missed his chance at a buzzer-beater that would have changed the fate of the game. Eventually, the Heat walked away with the win, beating the Lakers by just two points (104-102).

The 2004 game held the highest NBA regular season TV ratings since 1998 and was not surpassed until 2008. The rivalry between the two seemed to slowly fizzle out over time, and after both players retired, O’Neal launched a podcast where Bryant starred as his first guest. The two went on to become close friends before Kobe’s tragic passing in 2020.

The Christmas Truce

Possibly one of the most historically significant sporting moments of all time, the Christmas Truce involved a Christmas Day football game between the British and German soldiers during World War I. It was a true testimony to the power of sport.

According to the Imperial War Museum (IWM), on Christmas Eve 1914 British soldiers heard German troops singing Christmas carols, and a window of communication was opened as the two sides began shouting messages back and forth.

According to the personal accounts of soldiers that were later shared with the IWM, on Christmas Day, the German and British soldiers came out of the trenches and traded flags, shared bottles of champagne and, when a football was brought out, a couple of hundred men participated in a game.

While the truce was confined to a small area of the Western Front, there was a stark difference from the days before as hundreds of men fraternised and shared gifts. After a day and a half of an unofficial ceasefire, soldiers were ordered to stop mingling and the war continued as it had before.

While the First World War would continue for another four years, this friendly sporting competition brought a temporary hold to the hostility between the German and British soldiers as the individuals came together in a time of peace and giving.

A miraculous Christmas comeback: LeBron, Kyrie and the Cleveland Cavs overturn a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit against Golden State

With less than 10 minutes left in the 2016 Christmas Day game between Steph Curry, Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors and LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Warriors were dominating 94-80.

Golden State outscored the Cavs in all three of the first quarters and started the fourth with a 7-0 run to take a 14-point lead. But with just 9:22 left to play, everything began to change as an end game played out that would go on to be remembered as one of the best NBA Christmas Day moments of the 21st century.

The crowd erupted as Durant’s left-handed dunk ended Golden State’s seven-point run, and by the time there was 2:16 left on the clock, the game was all tied up. Irving then turned up the heat scoring 13 of Cleveland’s last 25 points. He put the bow on top for the Cavs with a fade-away jumper over Klay Thompson with 3.4 seconds left on the clock as the game ended with final score of 109-108.

66 top-flight goals scored in England on Boxing Day (1963)

With 66 goals in one day, English football's Division One (now Premier League) Boxing Day programme was one to remember.

Ten matches took place on 26 December, each with high scores, but it was the Fulham v Ipswich game that really stood out, with the game ending an astonishing 10-1. Fulham right-winger Graham Leggat scored a hat-trick for the history books, with three goals in just three minutes. It was the fastest hat-trick in English football history - a record that was eventually broken more than five decades later when Sadio Mane netted three times in two minutes and 56 seconds for Southampton in 2015.

Burnley also ran out 6-1 winners against Manchester United as just two teams failed to score a single goal.

England win Boxing Day cricket thriller as Australia suffer last-gasp heartbreak

The Ashes - played every two years or so between England and Australia - is the most historic of Test cricket matchups. Another tradition is the annual Boxing Day Test when Australia hosts a touring side at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

The two combined to heart-stopping effect in the 1982/83 Ashes when England needed to win after losing two of the first three Tests in the five-match series.

The five-day match, which began the day after Christmas, saw England score 284 in their first innings with Australia's reply eclipsing that by just three runs.

After falling to 45 for three at the start of their second innings, England rallied to post 294 leaving Australia requiring 292 to win.

But the Aussie's second innings was anything but straightforward.

England pace bowler Norman Cowans was the initial star of a see-saw match that saw both England and Australia installed as favourites at different times during the final innings. And after Cowans claimed his sixth wicket to leave Australia nine down and still 74 runs shy of victory, an away win looked inevitable.

But future legendary captain Allan Border and Australia number 11 Jeff Thomson dug in and put on 70 for the final wicket with just four more needed for a famous win.

Then came late drama. Ian Botham bowled an innocuous-looking ball to Thomson whose attempted push for a single was juggled by Chris Tavaré at second slip with Geoff Miller managing to grab the ball before it hit the ground.

Boxing Day bragging rights went to a jubilant but relieved England. And while a draw in the final match saw Australia regain the Ashes 2-1, this will go down as one of the most thrilling Ashes Tests in history.