Each episode normally airs two hours in length (condensed down from the normal two-and-a-half-hour length of a live telecast), although there have been some episodes that were only thirty to sixty minutes long, due to lack of complete footage, or were preserved as newsreels for a majority of games played in the 1950s.

In this re-formatted version, the program features interviews and trivia tidbits pertaining to the game being presented.

Hardwood Classics also lends its name to the Mitchell & Ness clothing line of authentic vintage NBA jerseys, as well as the annual throwback game series "Hardwood Classics Nights", featuring NBA teams in throwback uniforms.

More recent episodes focused more on an individual player or team accomplishments aside from games which feature signature plays and series/championship victories.

Another notable Knicks Christmas Day game took place a year earlier, featuring them and cross-river rival New Jersey Nets at Madison Square Garden, in which Knicks forward Bernard King scored 60 points in a 120-114 New York loss.

For instance, Game 6 of the 2006 NBA Finals, first aired in early 2007, was re-aired three years later with a shortened version of the Miami Heat's championship awarding ceremonies.

In contrast, Larry Bird's 49-point performance against the Portland Trail Blazers in 1992 was originally aired as a two-hour episode in 1999, but was shortened to an hour when it was re-aired in 2004, only covering the latter stages of the fourth quarter and two overtimes.

For example, a majority of Game 5 of the 1984 First Round between the New York Knicks and the Detroit Pistons used the MSG Network broadcast tandem of Marv Albert and Butch Beard, with the remainder handled by the Pistons' WDFN radio broadcast of George Blaha and Dave Bing.