NBA turns Christmas into its own holiday with star-studded 2025 slate to rival NFL

The NBA has made Christmas its own celebration, and the schedule for the 2025–26 season looks promising. ESPN journalist Shams Charania reported the league’s projected lineup for the games to be played on Christmas Day 2025. As it has since 2008, the day will feature five games in a row, back to back.

The Cleveland Cavaliers will visit Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Knicks in the first matchup of the day – and the only one featuring two Eastern Conference teams. Later, the San Antonio Spurs will head to Oklahoma City, where Victor Wembanyama will try to make an impact against the reigning NBA champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The third game will light up Crypto.com Arena, packed with stars, as Kevin Durant’s Houston Rockets face Luka Dončić and LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers. The LA team has played on Christmas 50 times, holding a 25–25 record.

The night’s main course will be all-Western Conference battles. Cooper Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks will travel to California to face Stephen Curry’s Golden State Warriors, while the final Christmas game will pit the Denver Nuggets against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Ball Arena.

Another year where Christmas is split between the NBA and NFL

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced in April 2025 that the league would stage three games on Christmas every year starting this season. For the current campaign, the Dallas Cowboys will visit the Washington Commanders, the Minnesota Vikings will host the Detroit Lions, and the night will wrap up with the Denver Broncos taking on the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.

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