The NBA Christmas Day schedule for 2026 is here. See all five Christmas games, matchups, tipoff times and the biggest storylines to watch.
The NBA has unwrapped one of the most anticipated pieces of the 2026-27 calendar, and Christmas Day is absolutely stacked.
Five nationally televised games will stretch from lunchtime through late Christmas night on Friday, December 25, 2026, featuring the defending champion New York Knicks, Victor Wembanyama, LeBron James, Jayson Tatum, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokić, Stephen Curry and several of the league’s biggest contenders.
The centerpiece may be a rematch of the 2026 NBA Finals, with the San Antonio Spurs visiting the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden to open the holiday schedule. New York defeated San Antonio for the championship last season, making the noon showdown an immediate must-watch game.
And that is only the beginning.
2026 NBA Christmas Day Schedule
Here is the reported five-game lineup:
San Antonio Spurs at New York Knicks
12:00 p.m. ET / 11:00 a.m. CT
Miami Heat at Boston Celtics
2:30 p.m. ET / 1:30 p.m. CT
Philadelphia 76ers at Los Angeles Lakers
5:00 p.m. ET / 4:00 p.m. CT
Oklahoma City Thunder at Minnesota Timberwolves
8:00 p.m. ET / 7:00 p.m. CT
Denver Nuggets at Golden State Warriors
10:30 p.m. ET / 9:30 p.m. CT
The five matchups have been reported as part of the NBA’s marquee 2026-27 schedule rollout, with the full regular-season schedule expected to follow.
Spurs vs. Knicks: A Christmas Day NBA Finals Rematch
You probably could not design a better opening game.
Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs will walk into Madison Square Garden to face the team that denied them an NBA championship just months earlier.
The Knicks enter the season as defending NBA champions after defeating San Antonio, and Christmas gives the Spurs an early opportunity to make a statement against the team sitting on top of the league.
New York is no stranger to the Christmas spotlight. Madison Square Garden has been one of the NBA’s signature holiday stages for decades, and now the league is adding a Finals rematch to the tradition.
Heat vs. Celtics Brings Another Eastern Conference Battle
The Miami Heat travel to Boston for a 2:30 p.m. ET matchup with the Celtics, returning another familiar Eastern Conference rivalry to Christmas Day.
Boston returns to the Christmas schedule after missing the 2025 slate, while the matchup could feature Jayson Tatum and the Celtics against a Miami roster led by Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo.
Boston and Miami have produced plenty of postseason drama over the years, making the second game another intriguing chapter between two franchises very familiar with high-pressure basketball.
LeBron James Returns to Los Angeles — Wearing a 76ers Uniform
Then comes the game that could dominate the conversation.
LeBron James and the Philadelphia 76ers visit the Los Angeles Lakers at 5 p.m. ET.
Yes, LeBron will be back in Los Angeles on Christmas Day — but this time on the opposing bench.
James’ move to Philadelphia instantly transformed the Sixers into one of the league’s biggest attractions, and the NBA wasted little time putting his return to Los Angeles on one of the largest television stages of the regular season.
Philadelphia’s revamped roster also features Jaylen Brown, making the Sixers one of the most fascinating teams entering the year.
For Lakers fans, Christmas suddenly becomes much more than another marquee game.
It becomes a reunion.
Thunder vs. Timberwolves Could Preview Another Playoff Battle
The night continues with the Oklahoma City Thunder visiting the Minnesota Timberwolves at 8 p.m. ET.
Oklahoma City remains one of the league’s premier teams behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, while Minnesota has become a regular presence near the top of the Western Conference.
The Timberwolves will host the matchup, placing another high-level Western Conference showdown in prime time.
With both teams built around elite talent and postseason expectations, this could easily feel like a playoff game several months before the actual postseason begins.
Jokić vs. Curry Closes Christmas Night
Christmas basketball will finish exactly where the NBA likes to finish it: with superstars out West.
The Denver Nuggets travel to San Francisco to face the Golden State Warriors at 10:30 p.m. ET, pairing Nikola Jokić and Stephen Curry in the final game of the night.
Golden State has become a Christmas Day fixture during the Curry era, and 2026 will continue that tradition. Curry and Draymond Green are expected to make their 14th consecutive Christmas Day appearance.
Meanwhile, putting Jokić opposite Curry gives the NBA two of the generation’s defining players to close an entire day of basketball.
Not a bad way to finish Christmas.
The NBA Is Leaning Into Storylines
The most noticeable thing about the 2026 schedule isn’t simply the star power.
It is the storytelling.
A Finals rematch.
A classic Eastern Conference rivalry.
LeBron returning to Los Angeles.
Two Western Conference powers colliding.
Jokić against Curry.
Christmas Day has long functioned as the NBA’s unofficial midseason showcase, but this year’s lineup feels particularly intentional.
The league isn’t simply scheduling five good basketball games.
It is scheduling five games with reasons to care.
Christmas Day Could Be One of the Biggest Sports Days of 2026
Basketball also will not have Christmas entirely to itself.
The NFL has games scheduled throughout December 25 as well, creating a massive day of overlapping professional sports in the United States. The NBA games are expected to stretch from noon ET until well after midnight on the East Coast.
For fans, that means Christmas 2026 could essentially become an all-day sports marathon.
But the NBA’s lineup can certainly hold its own.
From Wembanyama and the defending champions at Madison Square Garden to LeBron’s return to Los Angeles and Curry against Jokić late at night, the league has built a Christmas schedule filled with stars, history and unfinished business.
The presents may be opened in the morning.
The basketball lasts all day.
Sources
Reporting used for this story includes the NBA schedule rollout coverage from Reuters, the San Antonio Express-News, CelticsBlog, Liberty Ballers, Golden State of Mind and additional schedule reporting published ahead of the NBA’s full 2026-27 regular-season schedule release.
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