NBA Sets Five-Game Showcase for Christmas Day 2025
nba-2025-christmas-day-schedule
The NBA will mark the holiday season with five nationally televised games on Dec. 25, 2025, extending a tradition that dates to 1947.
Full Christmas Day lineup (all times ET)
Noon: Cleveland Cavaliers at New York Knicks
2:30 p.m.: San Antonio Spurs at Oklahoma City Thunder
5 p.m.: Dallas Mavericks at Golden State Warriors
7:30 p.m.: “Inside the NBA” studio show
8 p.m.: Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Lakers
10:30 p.m.: Minnesota Timberwolves at Denver Nuggets
All five matchups will air exclusively on ESPN and ABC. Viewers can also stream every game in the ESPN App and through the NBA streaming hub.
Headliners and first-time participants
The holiday schedule opens at Madison Square Garden, where Donovan Mitchell and the Cavaliers face Jalen Brunson’s Knicks. Later, Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama leads the Spurs against reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the defending champion Thunder.
The afternoon game features freshman sensation Cooper Flagg and the Mavericks visiting Stephen Curry’s Warriors. Prime time in Los Angeles pits LeBron James, Luka Dončić and Kevin Durant against Alperen Şengün and the Rockets, before Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves close the night in Denver against two-time MVP Nikola Jokić.
Four 2025 All-Stars are scheduled to make their first Christmas Day appearance: Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder teammate Jalen Williams, Cavaliers guard Darius Garland and Rockets center Şengün.
Christmas Day by the numbers
- The Knicks have appeared in a record 57 Christmas games.
- The Miami Heat own the holiday’s best winning percentage at .857 (12-2) and have won nine straight under coach Erik Spoelstra.
- LeBron James holds the player record for Christmas victories with 11.
- Coaches Phil Jackson and Jack Ramsay share the bench record at 11 wins apiece.
- Bernard King set the single-game scoring mark with 60 points for the Knicks in 1984.
The NBA first staged games on Dec. 25 in 1947, when the Knicks beat the Providence Steamrollers 89-75 at Madison Square Garden. The league has played on Christmas every year since, except 1998, when a lockout delayed the season.
Source: ESPN
