2025 NBA Christmas Day schedule: Who plays today, Thursday Dec. 25? Teams, times and games on Christmas Day

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder headline 2025’s Christmas Day action in the NBA, as the league again witnesses five Yuletide games.

Another five-star NBA Xmas

This is now the 18th year in a row that the NBA has served up a quintet of festive fixtures, as part of a Christmas basketball tradition that stretches back to 1947 - the second season in the competition’s history.

Can OKC avenge Spurs defeat?

In the pick of the day’s games, Gilgeous-Alexander’s OKC hosts Victor Wembanyana’s San Antonio, as the Thunder seek to take revenge in a repeat matchup between the top two teams in the West. On Tuesday, the Spurs claimed a seventh straight win by beating OKC in Texas, Keldon Johnson top-scoring for the Spurs with 26 points.

The Thunder currently occupy the No. 1 seed in the West with a 26-4 record, just ahead of the 22-7 Spurs.

OKC’s Christmas Day involvement continues an NBA tradition: since the mid-1990s, the league’s defending champion has almost always featured on the Dec. 25 schedule.

LeBron clashes with KD

Among 2025’s other Christmas games, NBA Cup winners the Knicks host the Cavaliers, as New York pursues the East-leading Pistons; and in L.A, veteran stars LeBron James and Kevin Durant come face to face as the Lakers meet the Rockets.

NBA Christmas Day - full schedule:

Cavaliers vs Knicks

Time: 12 noon ET/9:00 a.m. PT

Venue: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

How to watch: ABC, ESPN

Spurs vs Thunder

Time: 2:30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. PT

Venue: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK

How to watch: ABC, ESPN

Mavericks vs Warriors

Time: 5:00 p.m. ET/2:00 p.m. PT

Venue: Chase Center, San Francisco, CA

How to watch: ABC, ESPN

Rockets vs Lakers

Time: 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT

Venue: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA

How to watch: ABC, ESPN

Timberwolves vs Nuggets

Time: 10:30 a.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT

Venue: Ball Arena, Denver, CO

How to watch: ABC, ESPN

Viewers in the U.S. can watch ABC and ESPN on the streaming platform fubo, which offers new users a free trial.

NBA regular-season standings:

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