NBA’s Christmas Day Slate: A Look at the Five Games

The NBA’s Christmas Day slate is here, and it’s packed with exciting matchups. The Athletic’s Shams Charania tipped the league’s marquee slate for December 25, which should make for another great day of basketball. Here’s a look at the five games that will reportedly take place on Christmas Day this season.

1. New York Knicks vs. San Antonio Spurs

The New York Knicks will host a Christmas Day game, as they usually do, and this year, they’ll welcome Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs to Madison Square Garden. The Spurs are coming off a fifth-straight season with a losing record and missing the playoffs, while the Knicks are fresh off their best season in over a decade. This battle between Wembanyama and the Knicks is sure to be an entertaining one.

2. Dallas Mavericks vs. Minnesota Timberwolves

The Dallas Mavericks, fresh off their first NBA Finals appearance since 2011, will host the Minnesota Timberwolves at the American Airlines Arena. The Timberwolves went 55-26 last season and earned their third straight playoff berth, which they turned into their first trip to the conference finals in two decades. This Christmas Day battle between the two clubs should be great, and it will provide a good look at the Mavericks with Klay Thompson, who signed with the club after his long run with the Golden State Warriors.

3. Boston Celtics vs. Philadelphia 76ers

The reigning NBA champions will host the Philadelphia 76ers at TD Garden in what could easily be a preview of a thrilling playoff series a few months later. The 76ers have reloaded once again around Joel Embiid, adding Paul George to their roster after failing to make it out of the first round of the playoffs earlier this spring. The Celtics will enter the season as favorites to repeat as champions, too, and seem like they won’t miss a step in their effort to defend their title. If there’s one game to watch on Christmas Day amid family celebrations, this is it.

4. Golden State Warriors vs. Los Angeles Lakers

The Golden State Warriors will host both LeBron James and his son, Bronny, in a late game on Christmas. The Lakers made it into the playoffs last year through a play-in game, but they were knocked out by the Denver Nuggets in the opening round. The Golden State Warriors missed the playoffs completely in a rare rough year for the franchise that has been so dominant under head coach Steve Kerr. This isn’t the best matchup of the day by any means, but seeing James go up against Stephen Curry is sure to be an entertaining game regardless of how the two teams stack up in the West.

5. Denver Nuggets vs. Phoenix Suns

The final Western Conference game on Christmas could be hit or miss. The Denver Nuggets, behind three-time MVP Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray, are easily one of the best teams in the Western Conference and are more than capable of making a second trip to the NBA Finals in three years come spring. But the Suns, despite Devin Booker and Kevin Durant on their roster, have seemed to struggle in the last few years. They just lost in the first round of the playoffs and hired Mike Budenholzer to replace Frank Vogel as head coach – just a year after Vogel did the same to Monty Williams. This game on paper looks like it has the makings of a classic Christmas Day contest, but with how things have been trending in Phoenix lately, it could be just another average contest.