Christmas is upon us. On top of all the gift giving, lights and family traditions, the holiday also brings a full slate of NBA games on Christmas Day.
The NFL has joined in on the party, which prompted LeBron James to triumphantly deem Christmas as the NBA’s day last year following a win over the Warriors. He’s not wrong, as the league enlists its top teams and superstars to hit the hardwood on the holiday each year for all-day basketball action.
As the NBA announces its Christmas slate ahead of the full-season schedule, sometimes matchups can look better upon inception than when the basketballs are rolled out onto the floor. This year, we won’t see an NBA Finals rematch as the Pacers are without Tyrese Haliburton who’s rehabbing from a torn Achilles as his team struggles with a 6-24 record. The defending champion Thunder will play on Christmas, though, in a battle with new Western Conference foe Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs, who have had Oklahoma City’s number recently. When the league pitted Anthony Davis, Cooper Flagg and the Mavericks against Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler and the Warriors, the league could not have imagined that neither team would be above .500 on Christmas, but that’s just the glory of the chaotic NBA.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at all five NBA matchups on Christmas Day and rank them all from worst to best:
5. Mavericks (12-19) vs. Warriors (15-15), 5 p.m. ET
While stars will be on the floor in the Christmas Day matchup between the Mavericks and Warriors, both squads have struggled out of the gate in a loaded Western Conference. The Mavs had a brutal start to the year, but have looked better as of late with seven wins in their past 11 games. That’s largely in part to the immediate breakout of this year’s No. 1 pick who is must-see TV any time he hits the court. Flagg is averaging 24.1 points per game over the month of December and nearly recorded his first career triple-double in a close win over the Nuggets on Tuesday with 33 points, nine rebounds and nine assists for the Mavs’ best win of the season.
The Warriors have been up and down over their first 30 games as the franchise hopes to capitalize on what’s left in the careers of 37-year-old Curry, 36-year-old Butler and 35-year-old Draymond Green. Green and coach Steve Kerr got into an argument on the bench Monday, which led to the veteran forward walking off into the locker room. Warriors-Mavs should still be an exciting game with stars galore, but a matchup between two middling teams isn’t what the NBA hoped for.
4. Cavaliers (17-14) vs. Knicks (20-9), 12 p.m. ET
As the only Eastern Conference matchup of the day, the struggling Cavaliers hope to make a statement on the national stage at Madison Square Garden. Cleveland has had a disappointing start to the season, sitting at 17-14 and seventh place in the East after earning the conference’s top seed last year with a 64-win campaign. The Cavs have won two straight games heading into Christmas, which came against the Hornets and Pelicans. Before that, they dropped three straight—two in a row to the Bulls and a disappointing overtime loss to the Hornets.
Evan Mobley is currently sidelined due to a calf strain, but Donovan Mitchell continues to do his thing, currently fourth in the NBA in scoring with 30.6 points per game. The Knicks, on the other hand, are coming off an NBA Cup title with an impressive win over the Spurs. New York has won 13 of its past 15 games, sitting toward the top of the East only behind the surprising 24-6 Pistons. Cleveland hopes to make a statement that its up-and-down start is in the rearview, while New York hopes the MSG crowd can help keep the Knicks’ heater rolling.
3. Rockets (17-10) vs. Lakers (19-9), 8 p.m. ET
Luka Dončić missed the Lakers’ most recent game Tuesday—a 132-108 loss to the Suns as Austin Reaves came off the bench due to a calf strain that caused him to miss three games. Dončić sat out against the Suns due to a left leg contusion and is considered day-to-day.
Dončić’s health certainly dictates how this matchup will go as he leads the NBA in scoring with a whopping 34.1 points per game in his first full season as a Laker. Dončić missing his first Christmas game as a Laker would be a bummer, but the game still brings some intrigue even if he sits, which seems like a big “if” at this point. Lakers-Rockets at Crypto.com Arena will be the first matchup between Kevin Durant and James since Durant’s arrival in Houston. Plus, Houston’s young stars in Alperen Şengün and Amen Thompson will be on display up against the flashy L.A. offense (as long as Dončić plays, that is). A handful of the best scorers ever on the floor in Los Angeles, what’s not to like?
2. Timberwolves (20-10) vs. Nuggets (21-8), 10:30 p.m. ET
Anthony Edwards and Nikola Jokić will meet in the NBA’s Christmas Day nightcap in Denver.
The Nuggets and Timberwolves are just 1 1/2 games apart in the stacked Western Conference following strong starts to the season for both sides. Denver can win the season series between the two on Christmas after taking the first two games, which both took place at Minnesota’s Target Center. The Wolves dethroned the then-defending champion Nuggets in seven games during the Western Conference semifinals in 2024. Now, the Wolves have made the Western Conference finals two years in a row and the Nuggets are certainly a threat in keeping them from a third.
Denver hasn’t made it back to the conference finals since the title season in ‘23 and is hoping this is the year to break back through with an improved roster around one of the best players in the world in Jokić. Teams in the West will want to avoid the Thunder until as late as possible in the postseason, with games like these between two upper-tier Western Conference squads having the potential to mean a lot later on in the race for playoff positioning.
1. Spurs (22-7) vs. Thunder (26-4), 2:30 p.m. ET
Could the Spurs just be the Thunder stoppers?
The defending champions were 24-1 when they played the Spurs in an NBA Cup semifinals match on Dec. 13. The Spurs prevailed before they fell to the Knicks in the NBA Cup final, but San Antonio may have Oklahoma City figured out. Victor Wembanyama and Co. took down the Thunder once again Tuesday with a decisive 130-110 win.
This time, the Spurs will head to Oklahoma City with a tall task of defeating the Thunder for the third time in a row. In the previous two meetings, last year’s MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was each game’s leading scorer as the Spurs found a way to win while the superstar guard still got his. We’ll see if San Antonio can enact its winning recipe once again. It’s hard to beat the same team twice and even harder to do it three times. Either way, Thunder-Spurs is shaping up to be the Western Conference’s rivalry of the future.
More NBA on Sports Illustrated
- Dillon Brooks Needled LeBron James Again With Subtle Move in Lakers’ Loss to Suns
- Karl-Anthony Towns Reacts to Heartfelt Standing Ovation From Timberwolves Fans
- Pascal Siakam Was Brutally Honest About Pacers’ Dismal Season Without Tyrese Haliburton
- Victor Wembanyama, Spurs Unveil New Postgame ‘Tradition’ That Looks Awfully Familiar
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Ranking the NBA Christmas Day Matchups in Terms of Watchability.