The NBA is perhaps caught in its summer time doldrums proper now, nevertheless it’s by no means too early to consider Christmas. The league’s 2025 Christmas day schedule leaked on Friday afternoon because of ESPN insider Shams Charania, and the five-game slate is shaping as much as be one other implausible day of basketball.
The NBA needed to deliver the warmth for these Christmas day matchups, as a result of the NFL is infringing on their territory. The NFL would possibly say they view Apple and Google, not the NBA and MLB, as their essential competitors, however Dec. 25 has at all times belonged to the basketball boys. With the NFL bringing the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys, and Detroit Lions to its Christmas day schedule, the NBA adopted with their very own historic franchises and world stars. Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, LeBron James, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Victor Wembanyama, rookie scorching shot Cooper Flagg, and plenty of extra will all be on show come Christmas day for the NBA.
Let’s rank the 5 video games we’ll see on Dec. 25 by which of them that you must watch essentially the most.
5. Dallas Mavericks at Golden State Warriors
This matchup being final speaks to how robust the NBA’s Christmas slate is. The Warriors are a lock to play each Dec. 25 so long as Steph Curry continues to be Steph Curry. I’m a bit shocked the league gave Cooper Flagg its greatest stage straight away as a rookie, particularly throughout a yr when teammate Kyrie Irving might be sidelined as he recovers from a torn ACL. Flagg would be the youngest participant within the NBA this yr as he turns 19 years previous just a few days earlier than Christmas. It’s an enormous spot for him, however I really consider he’ll be one of many faces of the league at some point quickly, and it’s an amazing transfer to start out constructing his model with marquee video games like this from the leap.
I see the Warriors within the No. 6-8 seed vary within the West this yr. I doubt Dallas can do higher than the play-in with out Irving. It is a stable sport, nevertheless it’s all completely cool to skip it for further socialization with family and friends on the vacation.
4. Cleveland Cavaliers at New York Knicks
The primary sport of the day options the 2 front-runners within the East. Madison Sq. Backyard is a traditional backdrop for Christmas day within the NBA, and this one has two superb groups in a measuring stick sport for what many count on to be the eventual Jap Convention Finals matchup.
So why is it No. 4? There’s simply not rather a lot new about both of those groups, until you’re getting jacked up about Lonzo Ball spot minutes or Guerschon Yabusele within the Knicks’ eighth man position. Each of those groups are dealing with a certain quantity of strain to lastly breakthrough this yr in a season the place the Celtics and Pacers are successfully eradicated already because of season-ending accidents from Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton. I can’t wait to see these two groups play in Might, however there’s not fairly as a lot sense of discovery right here in comparison with the remainder of the slate.
3. Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers get a full season of Luka Magic this yr, and having LeBron James as a sidekick continues to be fairly good even every week in need of his forty first birthday when this matchup might be performed. The Lakers will go so far as Luka can take them, however there’s much more purpose to be optimistic in regards to the Rockets. Houston received 52 video games and earned the No. 2 seed within the West final yr with nothing resembling a major scoring choice. Enter Kevin Durant, the 37-year-old sniper lastly able to win once more after a failed stint in Phoenix. With a crew of rabid athletes and defenders round him, Durant ought to step into a simple position as a shooter and off-ball scorer who doesn’t must be Superman for his crew to win each night time.
The Rockets are the deeper and extra athletic crew. The Lakers nonetheless have the most effective particular person participant on the ground, and perhaps even the 2 finest relying on how a lot LeBron desires to push it through the common season. I just like the Rockets to win extra common season video games than the Lakers this yr, however I wouldn’t be shocked if Doncic makes use of this stage as a possibility to gun for his first MVP trophy. This might be high-level basketball with two superb coaches and future Corridor of Famers on each side.
2. Minnesota Timberwolves at Denver Nuggets
The nightcap options the most effective rivalry going within the NBA proper now. The Nuggets knocked off the Wolves on their technique to the primary championship in franchise historical past again in 2023. The Wolves ended their probabilities of a repeat the following yr with a shocking Recreation 7 win that minted Anthony Edwards as a blue chip celebrity already. It’s must-see TV each time these two groups play, and this matchup might be no exception.
Need to watch the most effective participant on the earth? Nikola Jokic is ready to retain that title for the sixth straight season. Need to see essentially the most thrilling American participant within the sport, the man who bears the closest resemblance to MJ and Kobe? That might be Minnesota stud two-guard Anthony Edwards, who continues to show he’s prepared for the second. Denver loaded up over the offseason to lastly enhance Jokic’s supporting solid, whereas the Wolves are hoping their younger gamers take one other step ahead and get them excessive. Minnesota has received six straight video games in opposition to Denver, which is wild. The Nuggets really feel like the largest championship menace to the Thunder this season, and so they can show it in opposition to the Wolves.
1. San Antonio Spurs at Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder
The Thunder received the 2025 NBA championship, and may very well be even higher this yr as Nikola Matter joins the rotation and all of their key gamers get one other yr nearer to their prime. If any crew is ever going to construct a dynasty within the second-apron period, the Thunder are the plain guess to do it. The Spurs is perhaps their greatest challenger long-term. Victor Wembanyama already seems like a top-10 participant on the earth as he enters this third season, and he nonetheless has a lot room to develop. The Spurs lastly gave Wemby an honest supporting solid this yr as De’Aaron Fox locked in with a large extension, and lottery luck rewarded the crew with No. 2 choose Dylan Harper.
The Thunder are on the mountaintop. Wembanyama desires to guide the Spurs there, and simply making the playoffs in a loaded West can be a step in the precise course this yr. Wembanyama was insanely superior on Christmas final season, and he’s solely getting higher. This won’t be the matchup to determine the West but, nevertheless it most likely might be ultimately, and that makes it essentially the most thrilling sport of NBA Christmas.
