The NBA Christmas Day Schedule Is Absolutely Loaded This Year-Breaking Down Every Matchup

The 2026–27 NBA season is months away still, but this week will give fans new reasons to be excited as the schedules are released for all 30 teams.

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Of course, the NBA couldn’t just release all the schedules at once. Not in today’s sports world, where every league has enthusiastically embraced the idea that revealing the dates of games we already know will be played is something to make a grand affair out of. So on Tuesday the rollout began with the NBA announcing the opening week schedule of games-as well as Christmas Day, the one slate of the regular season that guarantees huge audience numbers across the board (even with increased viewing competition from the NFL in recent years).

So it goes to figure that the league is very particular about choosing the teams that will play on Christmas Day. It’s the NBA’s annual showcase, an opportunity to draw new viewers and create the sort of sports-centric holiday memories that last a lifetime. That’s a fitting pedestal upon which basketball’s biggest stars can stand, from opening tip at 12 p.m. ET to the final buzzer of the late West Coast game after midnight.

For 2026, the NBA loaded the Christmas Day slate with five awesome games featuring just about every A-list superstar name possible. However, as we are all painfully aware, things do not go according to plan during the NBA season. Five months from now there’s a decent chance at least one of these matchups is a bust, whether it’s due to injury or a team’s unexpected failure to play at the expected level. In order to capture the complete picture of the 2026 Christmas Day slate, we must consider all factors.

Let’s dig into each of the games and break down why the NBA chose them-as well as the chances they wind up disappointing.

12 p.m. ET: Spurs at Knicks, Madison Square Garden

Why this game was chosen: Well … duh! This should be the first NBA Finals rematch of the season and will be a highly-anticipated follow-up to the competitive, thrilling five-game series from June. It’s also a rematch of the 2024 Christmas Day slate, hinting that the NBA is interested in making Spurs-Knicks at noon a recurring feature on Christmas. And we wouldn’t be mad about that at all.

Victor Wembanyama will grace the floor of Madison Square Garden for the first time since his team blew a historic Finals lead in Game 4. He will reckon with the ghosts of his failures in front of an enormous Christmas audience. What great theater it will be. On the Knicks’ side of things, Jalen Brunson has a tremendous sense of the moment and should put on a grand show-and the crowd will be in a frenzy to welcome San Antonio back into the lion’s den.

Chance of disappointment: 20%. The only way this game lets us down is due to injury. Wemby was hurt around this time last year and teams that make the Finals tend to be more at risk of injury the following season, simply due to the fact that they played more games than any other team in the league.

But if we know anything about Wembanyama, he’ll have this particular matchup circled on his calendar and possibly stapled to his locker. It’ll be his first true opportunity to avenge his Finals loss and to measure just how much he was able to improve year-over-year. He will be extremely motivated to be on the court no matter what. As long as he’s out there, the game should prove fun given New York’s competitive depth that should be able to withstand an injury if necessary against a high-caliber opponent.

This is a high-floor matchup that could end up the best of the bunch if it plays out the same way it did in June.

2:30 p.m. ET: Heat at Celtics, TD Garden

Why this game was chosen: The last two years have made it easy to forget but Giannis Antetokounmpo is one of the biggest stars the NBA has and he’s always going to get a prominent spot on big days like this. Jayson Tatum is no slouch in that department either. Pitting the two head-to-head on Christmas with the backdrop of the electric Celtics-Heat rivalry from earlier in the decade is a no-brainer by the league.

It could also wind up an important game standings-wise. Miami could be a newly-formed juggernaut with Giannis in the mix but is far from a perfect team and won’t run away in the East standings. Boston figures to be in a similar boat as a competitive squad post-Jaylen Brown trade, with enough weaknesses that every game will matter in terms of playoff positioning. Christmas comes early in the NBA calendar but it wouldn’t be shocking if this contest played a role in the seeding battle come April.

Chance of disappointment: 80%. Unfortunately this game is also most likely to let us all down. Antetokounmpo’s extensive injury issues held him to 36 games last season. Tatum was once an iron man but it remains to be seen how consistent his availability will be post-Achilles tear. The Heat figure to be pretty good but depth is a real issue, and nobody really knows how good the Celtics will be after swapping Brown for Paul George (whose own consistent injury problems that could sideline him).

In short, one or both teams could be closer to mediocre than elite with injury questions around three of the four biggest stars of the game. If everything breaks right, this will be a great watch, but there are too many pitfalls to exhibit confidence that will happen at this stage.

5 p.m. ET: 76ers at Lakers, Crypto.com Arena

Why this game was chosen: Bravo to the schedule makers for this brilliant stroke. LeBron James’s first game back in Los Angeles was going to be appointment viewing whether it took place on opening night or in March. Putting it on Christmas will guarantee the interest will be at an all-time high as far as the off-court narrative of it all goes.

On the court, there’s a real chance this game slaps. The two months between season tip-off and Christmas is enough time to believe the 76ers will be finding their identity as they approach the date in Los Angeles. If that proves to be the case, they’re a very interesting matchup with the Lakers and Luka Dončić-who is wont to exploding for 50-point games at a moment’s notice. It’s hard not be pumped about this.

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Chances of disappointment: 40%. The LeBron of it all is good fodder for the lead-up to the game but once the ball tips things might go off the rails. Both Philadelphia and L.A. have glaring defensive deficincies up and down the rosters, which means it’s not hard to foresee a blowout when projecting how the game will unfold. James will also be nearing his 42nd birthday; the sciatica might act up again, putting a damper on all the narrative excitement around his return to play the Lakers. Dončić is no guarantee to be healthy, either, after he missed the whole Los Angeles playoff run with a hamstring issue.

The novelty of the 76ers will still be shiny and new on December 25 so the contest will be interesting to some degree no matter what. But question marks remain.

8 p.m. ET: Thunder at Timberwolves, Target Center

Why this game was chosen: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the two-time reigning MVP, which means he is guaranteed a Christmas slot for the foreseeable future. At large, his Thunder team have led the NBA in wins for two seasons running so they’re a very solid bet to show up and play well on Christmas. On the other side, Anthony Edwards is an established superstar with room yet to grow and a box office skillset. This year he’ll have a similar player by his side in LaMelo Ball after the Timberwolves ditched Naz Reid and Julius Randle to add him this offseason via trade.

Minnesota will need some time to figure out how life works with this new roster but (like with Philly) the league is hoping the two-month runway from season tip will be enough to put forth a competitive effort against OKC. Edwards’s playoff history with the Thunder should give him a bit of extra energy, too.

Chances of disappointment: 75%. It’s always enjoyable to watch a great team like the Thunder play basketball but their method of winning hasn’t been the prettiest over these recent years. The delightful stretches of midrange shot-making SGA is prone to can help, but OKC’s style does trend towards ugly. The Wolves haven’t been much to write home about in that regard, either, with Edwards leading the way. The ball should move more freely with Ball in the mix but it’s going to take time for the two stars to figure out how to play together. Perhaps longer than that two-month runway into Christmas Day.

But really the reason we’re down on this one is straightforward: it’s the most obvious competitive imbalance on the slate. The Thunder are on the shortlist of championship favorites for the upcoming season, while the Timberwolves would be happy with home court advantage and a playoff series win. That means there’s a greater chance this spirals into OKC beating the tar out of Minnesota with its ruthless combination of defense and efficient scoring-not an unfamiliar sight, but one we’d rather avoid on Christmas.

10:30 p.m. ET: Nuggets at Warriors, Chase Center

Why this game was chosen: Steph Curry and Nikola Jokić. It’s as simple as that. The NBA doesn’t need to explain why they’re putting a perennial MVP finalist and Curry on the floor together on Christmas. So we won’t go long on that, either.

Chances of disappointment: 60%. There’s a very real chance that Golden State just stinks outright despite Curry’s best efforts, which would not make this a very fun watch. Curry is also good for a lengthy, annual sideline stay due to injury once or twice at this point in his career; if he misses Christmas, this game dances on forgettable territory.

But from where I’m standing, it isn’t the most likely game to disappoint. Why? Because Jokić is an absolute monster on Christmas. He’s always a ridiculously prolific statistical player but he levels up on Yuletide, for whatever reason. Entering the Nuggets’ Christmas Day matchup with the Timberwolves in 2025, the Denver superstar averaged 27.8 points, 12.6 rebounds and 7.8 assists on December 25-and then he scored 56 points to go with 16 rebounds and 15 assists. It was the first 55/15/15 game in NBA history. Jokić can be counted on to deliver something special no matter what on Christmas, which means he’ll be worth watching no matter who he’s playing.

NBA on Christmas Day matchup power rankings

After all that, we now have a clear ranking for how exciting we expect these games to be.

5. Heat vs. Celtics

4. Thunder vs. Timberwolves

3. Nuggets vs. Warriors

2. 76ers vs. Lakers

1. Spurs vs. Knicks

Only five months and change to go!

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This story was originally published August 11, 2026 at 12:00 PM.