For this year’s Christmas game between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs, the NBA and Disney took a creative leap by introducing an alternate broadcast for the games on Disney+, featuring none other than beloved Disney cartoon characters. Dubbed “Dunk the Halls,” this unique presentation brought a whimsical twist to the traditional NBA Christmas Day games.
The idea was simple yet innovative: replace real-life players with animated versions of themselves, all while keeping the game’s essence intact. Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Donald Duck, and Minnie Mouse took to the court.
The broadcast was a live recreation of the actual game, with characters like Mickey and Goofy performing the same moves as their real-life counterparts. The game between the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks was set in Disney’s Magic Kingdom Park, with Main Street, USA serving as the backdrop. The traditional broadcast aired on ABC, while the animated version was available on Disney+, ESPN2, and ESPN+.
The response from fans was pretty much exactly what one could have expected. Due to the silliness of it all, NBA Twitter predictably had plenty of jokes.
Disney broadcast is so dated. Mickey Mouse just told everyone that the power forward usually focuses on interior scoring and stays closer to the basket.
Mickey wake up it’s not 2010 anymore.
— will (@will_nets_hater) December 25, 2024
Disney NBA Christmas broadcast Adam Silver is haunting pic.twitter.com/b1Nd2ul20s
— 🦌 (snellszn.bsky.social) (@SnellSZN) December 25, 2024
Disney #NBAXmas feed on ESPN2 electric as anticipated.
Mickey Mouse and Wemby in the pick and roll is just what I needed this morning.
— Wade Neely (@WadeNeely) December 25, 2024
This feels like a broken Wii U NBA game with Disney characters. #NBA #NBAXmas #NBAChristmasDay pic.twitter.com/UhLAtYlat5
— Dana Abercrombie (@sagesurge) December 25, 2024
I need one of the serious NBA X’s and O’s accounts to do a full film breakdown of this Knicks-Spurs game, but only use the Disney altcast footage with like Goofy and Donald Duck running around.
— Tom Thibadome, Owner of the Thibsdale Thibadome (@Thibadome) December 25, 2024
Idk why people are shocked by this
Donald Duck is an all nba level defender https://t.co/5vGuXTVqMj
— Triple Threat Talk (@talkintriple) December 25, 2024
“#Goofy has great court awareness.” Great line from @McNuttMonica as part of #dunkthehalls alternate broadcast @Disney. #spurs #Knicks #NBAXmas #nba pic.twitter.com/QkPYZHgZuW
— Joe Favorito (@joefav) December 25, 2024
The NBA chose to invest in a simulcast of the games with Disney characters instead https://t.co/Ae87RNmikt
— Sham (@shamshammgod) December 25, 2024
