The NBA schedule makers had tantalizing options for the league’s Christmas Day lineup for the 2026-27 season.
They delivered a five-game extravaganza filled with intriguing storylines featuring past and present champions, regular-season MVPs, Finals MVPs, All-Stars and All-NBA selections.
Here is the Christmas Day schedule:
- San Antonio Spurs vs. New York Knicks (12 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN)
- Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics (2:30 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN)
- Philadelphia 76ers vs. Los Angeles Lakers (5 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN)
- Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (8 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN)
- Denver Nuggets vs. Golden State Warriors (10:30 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN)
It’s the NBA’s gift to fans.
‘TIS THE SEASON TO BE A HOOPER 🎄🏀
The 2026 NBA Christmas Day slate is HERE ❄️ pic.twitter.com/rBYXtnt9BR
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 11, 2026
Returning to the Christmas Day schedule are Philadelphia’s LeBron James, Golden State’s Steph Curry, Miami’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Denver’s Nikola Jokić, all of whom are NBA champs, MVPs and Finals MVPs. New York’s Jalen Brunson and Philadelphia’s Jaylen Brown are NBA champs and Finals MVPs. Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid won MVP in 2022-23.
The Knicks are Christmas Day regulars – going back to the league’s first Christmas games in 1947 – along with the Lakers, Celtics, James and Curry.
Here’s a look at what to expect in each Christmas Day game this season.
San Antonio Spurs vs. New York Knicks
This is a rematch of the 2026 NBA Finals participants, and the two teams played on Christmas in 2024, a game in which the Knicks won 117-114 and Victor Wembanyama had 42 points, 18 rebounds, four assists and four blocks.
New York around the holidays is a special place. Miracle on 34th Street. Santa Claus at Macy’s. The Christmas tree and ice skating at Rockefeller Center. Knicks hosting a Christmas game at Madison Square Garden.
This will be the Knicks’ 59th Christmas game and 51st home game on December 25. Last season, the Knicks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 126-124 and Jalen Brunson scored 34 points – just about six months before he earned Finals MVP.
The Spurs beat the Thunder 117-102 on Christmas last season. De’Aaron Fox led the Spurs with 29 points, and Wembanyama had 19 points and 11 rebounds.
Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics
Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Miami Heat return to the Christmas schedule for the first time since 2023 – with this being Antetokounmpo’s first December 25 game with the Heat, who beat the Philadelphia 76ers 119-113 three years ago. In Antetokounmpo’s six Christmas games, he has scored at least 30 points in three games and collected at least 12 rebounds in five games.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra is 9-0 on Christmas with victories in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2020 and 2023. Miami also owns the best Christmas winning percentage at .857 (12-2).
This is Boston’s 39th Christmas game, third-most all-time. The Celtics last played on Christmas in 2024, losing to Philadelphia 118-114.
Philadelphia 76ers vs. Los Angeles Lakers
This matchup conjures memories of those 1980s Sixers-Lakers games. Instead of Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Julius Erving, Moses Malone and Maurice Cheeks, we get LeBron James, Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey, Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves.
Already the leader in games played on Christmas with 20, James, who returns to L.A. to play his former team, is on target to extend to 21. In Christmas games, James is No. 1 in points (525), made FGs (187); tied for first in steals (30); second in assists (142) and could pass Oscar Robertson (145) for No. 1. He is also No. 2 in 3-pointers made (32), three behind Cleveland’s James Harden. He has the most Christmas victories of any player (11) and has played on Dec. 25 for 19 consecutive seasons.
Dončić is the only current player to score at least 50 in a Christmas game – 50 as a member of the Dallas Mavericks against the Phoenix Suns in 2023 – and is just one of four players to reach 50 or more points in a Christmas game, joining Bernard King (60 in 1984), Wilt Chamberlain (59 in 1961) and Rick Barry (50 in 1966).
21st LeBron Christmas, an NBA record 🎄
This time, he will bring the Christmas Day magic in a Sixers uniform vs. the Lakers 🔔 pic.twitter.com/rGHo3QLbF4
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) August 11, 2026
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
Minnesota will play on Christmas for the third consecutive season and for the fifth time in franchise history. Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards scored 44 points in last season’s December 25 142-138 overtime loss to the Denver Nuggets, and new Timberwolves guard LaMelo Ball is scheduled to make his Christmas debut.
In OKC’s 117-102 loss to the Spurs on December 25 last season, several Thunder players made their Christmas debut, including two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had 22 points, six rebounds and four assists.
The Thunder defeated the Timberwolves in the 2025 Western Conference Finals.
Denver Nuggets vs. Golden State Warriors
Denver star Nikola Jokić is the Christmas triple-double gift that keeps on giving. In six Christmas games, Jokić has recorded three triple-doubles, including a 56-point, 16-rebound, 15-assist performance last season in a 142-128 overtime victory against Minnesota. He is also one of three players to have at least 40 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists on Christmas, and he has done it twice. Nuggets guard Jamal Murray last season set the record for most 3s made (nine) in a Christmas game.
Steph Curry and Draymond Green have become Christmas veterans, too. This will be Golden State’s 16th Christmas game in the past 17 seasons and 14th consecutive December 25 game. Curry scored 23 points last season, and in 2024, he had 38 points in a 115-113 loss to the Lakers. Curry is tied for third with former teammate Klay Thompson in 3-pointers made on Christmas with 28 and is No. 8 in assists (74) in Christmas games, two behind Chris Paul.
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Jeff Zillgitt has covered the NBA since 2008. You can email him at jzillgitt@nba.com, find his archive here and follow him on X.
