The National Basketball Association (NBA) has announced its Christmas Day schedule for 2026, featuring five games highlighted by a rematch of the 2026 NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks.
The holiday slate kicks off on Friday, Dec. 25, with the Spurs facing the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. New York enters the season as the defending NBA champion, having also won the 2025 NBA Cup.
The Christmas Day schedule will continue with:
- Miami Heat at Boston Celtics, 2:30 p.m. ET (ABC)
- Philadelphia 76ers at Los Angeles Lakers, 5 p.m. ET (ABC)
- Oklahoma City Thunder at Minnesota Timberwolves, 8 p.m. ET (ABC)
- Denver Nuggets at Golden State Warriors, 10:30 p.m. ET (ABC)
The matchup between the Heat and Celtics pits two longtime Eastern Conference rivals against each other on the holiday. The game between the 76ers and the Lakers will send LeBron James back to Los Angeles to play against his former team.
For the Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves, this game marks the Timberwolves' first Christmas Day home game. The Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors will close out the day's festivities in San Francisco, with their game being the only one scheduled for the late-night window.
This marks the 19th consecutive season that the NBA will feature a five-game schedule on Christmas Day.
The 2026-27 NBA regular season is set to begin on Tuesday, Oct. 20, with matchups including Boston at Detroit, Philadelphia at New York, and Oklahoma City at San Antonio. The regular season is scheduled to conclude on Sunday, April 11, 2027.