NBA Christmas Day Schedule Unveiled: Thunder, Lakers, and Knicks Headline Quintupleheader
The NBA has revealed its highly anticipated Christmas Day schedule, headlined by a home game for the newly crowned Oklahoma City Thunder against the san Antonio Spurs. This marks a meaningful shift for the Thunder, who felt overlooked last season when excluded from the holiday lineup.
The league’s annual showcase on December 25th will feature a quintupleheader of marquee matchups, offering basketball fans a full day of action. BetMGM Sportsbook currently lists the Thunder as 9.5-point favorites over the Spurs.
Here’s a complete look at the Christmas Day slate, released by the NBA on Tuesday:
- Cleveland Cavaliers at New York Knicks (-2.5)
- Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Lakers (-1.5)
- Dallas Mavericks (featuring No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg) at golden State Warriors (-4.5)
- Minnesota Timberwolves at denver Nuggets (-4.5)
- Oklahoma City Thunder vs. San Antonio Spurs (-9.5)
Beyond the Christmas Day games, the NBA is set to release details regarding its inaugural NBA Cup games on Wednesday, with the full 82-game schedule for all teams arriving on Thursday. The remaining two games for each team will be determined in December based on performance within the NBA Cup tournament.
“They make the schedule. We play it,” a Thunder coach remarked last season, reflecting on the team’s lack of Christmas Day inclusion. “Our players, I know, would have liked to play on Christmas because that’s such a staple day in the NBA season. But we can’t control that.”
This year, however, the thunder effectively controlled their destiny. Championship teams are traditionally invited to play on Christmas the following season, and Oklahoma City secured the title by defeating Indiana in a thrilling seven-game NBA Finals series. Conversely, the indiana Pacers, the Eastern Conference champions, were among those left off the list, facing challenges after losing key players Tyrese Haliburton to an Achilles tear and Myles Turner to free agency with a move to Milwaukee.
The New York knicks will extend their NBA record to 58 christmas game appearances, a tradition dating back to the league’s first Christmas game at Madison Square Garden in 1947.
Several teams saw their Christmas Day participation altered from last year. Boston, Philadelphia, and Phoenix were replaced by Cleveland – the East’s No. 1 seed – Houston,bolstered by the addition of Kevin Durant,and the Thunder.Cleveland and Oklahoma City haven’t played on Christmas since 2018, while the Rockets are making their first appearance since 2019.
LeBron James, should he play, is poised to make his 20th Christmas appearance in his 23rd NBA season – a feat only surpassed by 12 NBA franchises in terms of total Christmas games played. Texas will also be prominently featured, with all three of its teams – Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio – participating in Christmas Day games for the first time ever.
The NBA’s partnership with NBC officially begins with opening night on October 21st. The Thunder,favored by 6.5 points,will receive their championship rings before hosting Durant and the Rockets. This will be followed by a second game featuring Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, and the Golden State Warriors against James, Luka Doncic, and the Los Angeles lakers (-3.5) as part of an NBC doubleheader.
Peacock and NBC will also present four games on January 19th, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, including:
- Milwaukee Bucks at Atlanta Hawks (Peacock, 1 p.m. Eastern)
- Oklahoma City Thunder at Cleveland cavaliers (NBC, 2:30 p.m. Eastern)
- Dallas Mavericks at New York Knicks (NBC, 5 p.m. Eastern)
- Boston Celtics at Detroit Pistons (NBC, 8 p.m. Eastern)
The Memphis Grizzlies, a frequent Christmas day participant, will not be featured this season as they will be completing a trip to Europe, with games against Orlando on january 15th in berlin and January 18th in London.
