High School Basketball Christmas Tournaments 2023

The Hardwood Invite is one of the top 25 ranked Christmas Day basketball events in the country. It normally lasts for 4 to 5 days.

The invite is a newly established holiday basketball competition that was first held in Washington state. The tournament is played at the Auburn High School between December 18 to 21.

The whole event was started as a concept to uplift the grassroots level of basketball. It is common ground for excellent teams all over the country to showcase their raw talents.

The first season of the contest was held in 2021 and was comprised of 16 teams. The winner of the whole event was Garfield Bulldogs from Seattle.

In the current campaign, there are a total of 16 teams that will be competing against each other. The schedule for this season is set between the 16th of December and the 20th of December of 2023.

The event is set to be held in Portland, Oregon. The defending champions of the competition are also the Garfields.

Les Schwab Invitational is among the annual Christmas basketball tournaments held in the country. West Linn Lions are the defending champions of this event.

Established in 1996, it was primarily known as the Oregon Holiday Invitational. The idea for the championship was proposed by Barry Adams and Nick Robertson with the Oregon high school coaches.

After continuous phone calls and letters to the OSAA and with the financial support of Les Schwab the holiday event finally started. The first season consisted of 16 teams and was won by the Beaverton.

Eventually, in 2000, the name of the tournament was changed to the Les Schwab Invitational. It was changed in honor of the continuous support of Les for the competition.

Recently a total of 12 local schools and 4 national schools took part in the event. The 4 schools are Bishop Gorman Gaels from Las Vegas, Brophy College Prep Broncos for Phoenix, Duncanville Panthers from Duncanville and Sierra Canyon Trailblazers from Chatsworth.

The City of Palms Classic is one of the Christmas basketball tourney which started in 1972. The Palms will be celebrating its 50th Anniversary in 2023.

It was initially started as a local-level Christmas competition in Piqua city of Ohio. However, the tournament at present has evolved into one of the most famous holiday events in the country.

The classic was started by the then-head coach of Edison Community College Hugh Thimlar. He with the support of other high school coaches from the area organized a small holiday game.

At present, there will be a total of 16 teams playing the traditional season. Some of the teams are Cannon Cougars, Don Bosco Ironmen, Montverde Academy Eagles and IMG Academy White Ascenders.

The game is set to start from the 18th of December to the 23rd of December of 2023. Montverde Eagles were the 2022 champions of this event.

Kreul Classic is a Xmas tournament held every year for both the boys and the girls. Kreul Classic had its first season back in 1990.

Jim Kreul was the head coach of the Coral Springs Basketball Club. He was widely applauded by the locals of Coral Springs for his enthusiasm towards the sport.

Kreul contribution to raising the funds for the club and AAU national championship was commendable. For the respect of his dedication towards the game, the event was started.

After the death of the then-head coach in 1990, the competition started. Jim Reilly along with the locals from the community announced the birth of the Kreul Classic Christmas tournament.

The first season was played in Springfield with 12 clubs including both the boys and the girls. The head coach’s daughter Kolleen Kreul was also a contestant in the tournament.

Kolleen along with her team the Taravella Trojans managed to win the first-ever championship. She scored 18 points in the finals and landed herself the overall MVP title.

The recent event was held from 17 December 2022 to the 20th of December. There were 40 boys’ teams and 40 girls' teams present in the tournament.

Some of the teams for boys were South Gwinnett Comets, Calvary Christian Warriors, Forest Hills Yellow Jackets and Coral Springs Colts. South Gwinnett comets were the winner from the boy's bracket.

The KSA Christmas tournament is another championship that hosts basketball games on Christmas. It is presented by the KSA Events.

The first-ever KSA championship was held in 2016 with the participation of 20 teams. Montverde Academy Eagles, La Lumiere Lakers, Milton Academy Mustangs and Blair Academy Bucs were some of the teams on the list.

The tournament is held in Orlando, Florida and serves as the venue for young boys to showcase their basketball talents. The presence of Scouts and coaches in the event makes it more valuable to these boys.

In the latest season of 2022, the Montverde Academy Eagles were the victorious ones. The Tigers had defeated Oak Hill Academy Warriors by 75-68 in the finals.

A new season of contest is scheduled to start from the 13th of December to the 30th of December of 2023. It is planned to be held at Game Point Event Center with the presence of 32 teams.

Moreover, the management team also hosted a competition for high school girls called the KSA Holiday Classic during the same period of time.

Anthony J Cotoia Tournament is one of the boys basketball contests held at South Plainfield High School. The event was initiated in 2009.

It is played in honor of the legendary boys’ basketball coach of the country Anthony J. Cotoia. Anthony was one of the greatest coaches in Plainfield history.

He led the team to their one and only state championship title in 1964. The event usually lasts for 2 days.

There were 4 teams in the recently held competition of 2022. The teams were South Plainfield, Edison, Perth Amboy Magnet and Scotch Plains-Fanwood.

The defending champions of the event are South Plainfield themselves while the Scotch Plains-Fanwood were just behind them.

The tournament follows a 2-bracket format. The winning teams are listed in the winner bracket and the losing teams in the consolation bracket.

John Wall Holiday Invitational is included in the holiday basketball tournaments played in the country. It was created by NBA star John Wall.

The 33-year-old started this tournament for young high school students to showcase their talents. He held the competition for the first time in 2018.

The Invitational was primarily designed only for the boys. Camden Panthers was the first winner of the tournament.

Later in 2019, girl's teams were also invited to the event by making a separate bracket for them. The Southeast Raleigh Bulldogs was the winner in the confrontation.

Now in 2023, there will be the presence of 16 teams 8 from the boy’s bracket and 8 from the girl’s bracket. Both divisions will have different winners and will not clash against each other in any game.

The boys' division consists of teams like Camden Panthers, Cary Academy Chargers, Millbrook Wildcats and Broughton Capitals. Panthers are the defending champions of the event.

Furthermore, the girls’ brackets include Southeast Raleigh Bulldogs, Broughton Capitals, Heritage Huskies and Millbrook Wildcats. The previous tournament was named by the Bulldogs by a 17-point lead.

Desert Holiday Classic is also listed among the high school basketball tournaments in the country. Mount Si Wildcats were the recent title winners of 2022.

The Classic is considered to be the American finest boys event. Held in Rancho Mirage California, it is a national competition.

Jim Huffman started the contest back in 1999. He started it to uplift the level of basketball in the schools located near the desert regions of the country.

The tournament had witnessed the presence of some of the now NBA stars. Players like LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Kevin Durant also competed in the event.

Holiday Classic is usually held in late December but was paused in 2021 because of the global pandemic. However, it has returned and is scheduled to run from the 27th December to the 30th December of 2023.

There are more than 100 participating teams in the competition. Wildcats are the 2 times consecutive winners of the tournament and are looking for their hat-trick title this year.