NBA Christmas Day 2025 Schedule and Game-by-Game Preview, Analysis
The Christmas Day schedule is upon us, and it's a doozy.
Below, we'll break down the schedule for the holiday's five-game slate and preview the exciting Yuletide matchups.
Cleveland Cavaliers at New York Knicks
1 of 5
Time and Network: Noon ET on ESPN/ABC
Christmas at Madison Square Garden? Not too shabby.
Two of the top contenders in the Eastern Conference will face off when the Cavs match up with the Knicks. Neither team made major changes this offseason, sticking with core groups that led them to the Eastern Conference Semifinals and Finals, respectively, last season (both teams were eliminated by the Indiana Pacers).
This could be a potential preview of the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2025-26 campaign and is one of the more intriguing matchups on the schedule.
San Antonio Spurs at Oklahoma City Thunder
2 of 5
Time and Network: 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN/ABC
The Spurs enter the 2025-26 season as one of the more intriguing teams in the NBA, led by ascending superstar Victor Wembanyama, star point guard De'Aaron Fox and a pair of talented young guards in Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper. The Spurs are going to be a trendy pick to have a major breakout season, much as the Thunder did back in the 2023-24 campaign.
Of course, the Thunder took things a step further last season, winning the NBA championship behind league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, star wing Jalen Williams and big man Chet Holmgren.
This very much has the feel of a matchup between the young upstart and the now-established juggernaut. From a pure basketball standpoint, this might be the most fun matchup of the day.
Dallas Mavericks at Golden State Warriors
3 of 5
Time and Network: 5 p.m. ET on ESPN/ABC
This game may not feature Kyrie Irving as he recovers from a torn ACL, but it will feature Rookie of the Year favorite Cooper Flagg, and that alone makes it appealing.
But the intrigue factor is aided by Klay Thompson yet again traveling back to San Francisco to face his former team, where he spent the majority of his NBA career and won four NBA titles. And as always, the chance to see Stephen Curry raining triples is always worth the watch.
Irving's status will factor into whether the Mavericks are in the playoff hunt, but the Warriors are expected to a contender with a full season of Jimmy Butler paired with Curry and Draymond Green.
Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Lakers
4 of 5
Time and Network: 8 p.m. ET on ESPN/ABC
The Rockets made one of the biggest splashes of the offseason, trading for Kevin Durant, and now look to be legitimate contenders in the Western Conference. Durant is flanked by Alperen Şengün, Amen Thompson, Fred VanVleet and a deep group of young role-players, and a Christmas showcase against the Lakers could be a good barometer of how everything is jelling.
The Lakers, meanwhile, are clearly transitioning into the Luka Dončić Era, and the 2025-26 season could potentially be LeBron James' final go. The Lakers made some solid additions on the margins, most notably bringing aboard Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart, and should be one of the teams vying to unseat the Thunder.
Don't be shocked if this ends up being a playoff preview.
Minnesota Timberwolves at Denver Nuggets
5 of 5
Time and Network: 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN/ABC
Anthony Edwards. Nikola Jokić. Need we say more?
Two of the better teams in the Western Conference will square off in this one in a rematch of the 2023-24 Western Conference Semifinals (won by Minny). Both teams had a crack at the Thunder in last year's playoffs, with the Nuggets falling short in seven games in the semis and the Wolves bowing out in five games in the Conference Finals.
The Nuggets had a fantastic summer, most notably replacing Michael Porter Jr. with Cameron Johnson in a blockbuster trade with the Brooklyn Nets, while the Wolves lost Nickeil Alexander-Walker but kept both Julius Randle and Naz Reid.
The Wolves have reached the past two conference finals. The Nuggets look like the team most ready to potentially dethrone the Thunder. This is a heavyweight fight.
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