The NBA’s Christmas Day schedule tends to be low-hanging fruit for people (like myself) who are paid to scrutinize a professional sports league. The matchups in the annual showcase often feel flat, random, or spoiled by injuries. Not this year! Most of these games range from excellent to intriguing; health willing, at least three can’t be missed, and one is shaping up to be a momentous blockbuster. Here's my ranking for all five by entertainment value. Happy holidays, and thanks for reading!
5. New York Knicks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (Noon ET, ABC/ESPN)
This has absolutely nothing to do with the Knicks—they’re a bona fide championship contender with a legitimate MVP candidate, a system that’s more diversified than it was last year, and tons of size—and everything to do with Cleveland, a colossal disappointment that’s currently yielding one of the lowest ROIs in league history. The NBA’s most expensive team is currently in eighth place, sitting at 15-14 with recent home losses against the Blazers, Hornets, Bulls (twice), and Warriors (who were without Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green).
Evan Mobley is hurt. Jarrett Allen has played fewer fourth-quarter minutes than just about anyone else on the team. Darius Garland is light-years away from looking like the All-Star he was last year. Lonzo Ball’s true shooting mark is 15.5 percent below the league average. Dean Wade is a Christmas ornament. Sam Merrill and Max Strus are, apparently, indispensable. De’Andre Hunter ranks in the 6th percentile in defensive estimated plus-minus. There are moments when everyone on the team looks like they’d rather be anywhere else, and their schedule after Christmas Day’s trip to Madison Square Garden is brutal, with games against the Rockets, Spurs, Suns, Nuggets, Pistons, and Timberwolves (twice). The wheels might be fully off after that stretch.
Given the team’s $392.3 million payroll, it’s fair to wonder whether reigning Coach of the Year Kenny Atkinson will survive the season. More importantly, when will Donovan Mitchell get antsy? The 29-year-old has never played better but is regularly frustrated by his teammates; thanks to his contract situation, he’s very quietly morphing into a fascinating trade candidate. Mitchell is not extension eligible until July 2027, which is the same summer he can opt out of his contract. What are the realistic odds he’ll stay in Cleveland beyond that? The Cavaliers probably aren’t in a rush to move on, considering they don’t have control of their own pick until 2030 and are neck-deep in the second apron. But I’m sure several teams—the Miami Heat, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, Atlanta Hawks, and Brooklyn Nets (??)—will be eager to make a pitch sometime soon. (If some of those suitors feel pie in the sky, keep in mind that Mitchell has enough leverage with his contract to dictate which team he plays for next—should he demand a trade sooner rather than later.)
OK, enough about the Cavaliers. Let’s talk about the Knicks. I didn’t think Tom Thibodeau deserved to be fired (and still have doubts about New York’s defense holding up in the playoffs), but it’s patently clear to me that Mike Brown has done a phenomenal job evolving one of the more talented rosters in the league, altering the rotation and stripping some predictability from an offense that needed to spread its wings. This is well-known but worth repeating: Last year, New York’s starting lineup was on the floor for a league-high 38.9 percent of the team’s total minutes. This year, that number ranks 15th, down to 22.1 percent. Meanwhile, 18.7 percent of their lineups have only two starters in them. That’s growth!
Somewhat related to this is a spicy take I can no longer hold back: OG Anunoby increasingly feels like New York’s second-best player. With all due respect to Karl-Anthony Towns—who very well may make another All-Star team, is getting to the free throw line at by far a career-high rate, and provides the most off-ball gravity at his position—Anunoby is a Defensive Player of the Year candidate whose absence makes the Knicks feel naked. Yes, we’re talking about a role player. Yes, Anunoby is an extremely limited playmaker who’s made only 30 percent of his non-corner 3s this season and who occasionally no-shows on offense. I don’t care! He fits in every lineup, mothballs all five positions, and punishes the mismatches that come his way. New York outscores opponents by 15.2 points per 100 possessions when he’s on the court and just 1.8 points per 100 possessions when he sits. That net differential leads the team. I know Cleveland is having a really bad year, but Christmas is officially canceled for whichever Cavalier is primarily guarded by Anunoby.
4. Golden State Warriors vs. Dallas Mavericks (5 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN)
Every opportunity to watch Steph Curry play basketball is a gift that can’t be taken for granted. Unfortunately, the Golden State Warriors are also a very sad viewing experience, unable to capitalize on what has quietly, somehow, been Curry’s best season in years. There’s dysfunction, confusion, inconsistency, and an offense that really struggles to score when Curry and Jimmy Butler don’t share the court. Golden State ranks third in defensive rating but is also bottom 10 in opposing fast-break points, second-chance points, and points off turnovers. The bottom line: This isn’t working. The Warriors are an old, undersized, stale disappointment. It’s a bummer.
But that doesn’t mean you should skip this game. Au contraire. As a society, we really should be talking more about what Cooper Flagg is starting to show in crunch time. Down the stretch against the 21-5 Detroit Pistons last week, Flagg hit big shot after big shot with Isaiah Stewart (a slab of iron who’s on track to make an All-Defensive team) guarding him. He created space, absorbed contact, and got to his spots without feeling rushed. Flagg repeatedly hunted Cade Cunningham, and it was fascinating to see the Pistons shy away from that matchup. When they reluctantly switched it in overtime, Flagg’s aggression created a dump-off dunk:
Seeing this type of poise from someone who just turned 19 years old is surreal—borderline unprecedented—and permits you to wonder whether the over/under on career MVP awards should be set at 2.5. Flagg leads the NBA in clutch minutes and is fourth in total points. For those who haven’t watched a ton of Mavericks games this season, this is a fantastic chance to introduce yourself to a prodigious talent who will be in our lives for years to come.
3. Los Angeles Lakers vs. Houston Rockets (8 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN)
Unlike the first four teams on this list, these two could realistically meet in the second round of the playoffs. It’s a fascinating matchup with at least four probable All-Stars (Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Alperen Sengun, and Kevin Durant) and several mononymous icons, including the league’s all-time scoring leader. (LeBron James and Durant have scored a combined 791 points on Christmas Day. That’s a lot.)
We’ve yet to see the Rockets and Lakers face off this season, which means we haven’t seen Amen Thompson hound Doncic and/or Reaves up and down the court, and we aren’t exactly sure how L.A. will guard Sengun—the world deserves a quarter where Marcus Smart is his primary defender—or deal with Houston’s humongous five-man units.
There’s historical relevance, too. It won’t be the last time LeBron squares off against KD, but it is a reminder that these two won’t be around to entertain us much longer. They haven’t gone toe-to-toe on Christmas since 2018. Don’t take it for granted.
2. Denver Nuggets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (10:30 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN)
I initially slotted this matchup at no. 3 but was quickly swayed by the mettle Minnesota showed in a huge win against Oklahoma City on Friday night. It was a reminder of how sharp the Timberwolves’ bite can be in a game with stakes. Just their luck: The Nuggets are good enough to provide some. This is Nikola Jokic and Anthony Edwards—arguably the two most entertaining players in the entire league—on opposing teams that share history and hard feelings. The competitive juices will flow, zone defense will be deployed, and there’s a decent chance this showdown will ultimately preview a postseason rubber match.
For me, it also just seemed sacrilegious to declare any two games more compelling than one with Jokic in it. Has there ever been a more edifying talent? The three-time MVP regularly makes flashy passes that 99.9999 percent of NBA players can’t see, and all of them exist solely to generate the clearest possible track to the basket. On Christmas, he’ll try and do it against the franchise he’s spent more minutes torturing than any other. (Watching Jokic go at Rudy Gobert like there’s a personal vendetta between their families that goes back several hundred years is inhumane and entertaining.)
Meanwhile, facing a Nuggets defense that’s flawed on the perimeter and has no choice but to pack the paint, put two on the ball, and leave 3-point shooters open, the Timberwolves will need to shift Denver side to side to allow Edwards to really cook downhill. Here’s a creative example from their recent win against the Thunder: Ant starts with an Iverson cut, pitches it back to Rob Dillingham, then sprints off a flare screen set by Gobert (whose two picks are critical in this play) and hits the hole as soon as he catches the ball:
What’s more, Jaden McDaniels vs. Jamal Murray (assuming McDaniels is able to play) is crowd-pleasing catnip for basketball nerds who know it’s this rivalry’s most important duel. Can McDaniels successfully navigate screens, stay out of foul trouble, and make Murray think twice on every pull-up jumper? Or will Murray stay one step ahead, get into the paint, and prevent Minnesota from guarding pick-and-rolls with two defenders? So much of the game’s action will flow from how these questions are answered. This should be a fun one.
1. Oklahoma City Thunder vs. San Antonio Spurs (2:30 p.m., ABC/ESPN)
Hell. Yes. This has pretty much everything a Christmas Day game should offer: super-duper star power, the potential for massive stakes, fascinating matchups, strategic adventures, and the closest thing to a budding rivalry that we’ve seen under today’s CBA. Even if the Nuggets are the biggest threat to take OKC down in a playoff series this spring, the Spurs are its greatest long-term foil.
If you saw San Antonio stun Oklahoma City in the NBA Cup semifinal, you will do everything in your power to see whether the defending champions get revenge. We have two of the NBA’s best offenses trying to score on a pair of elite defenses that wall off the paint and hound ball handlers 80 feet from the rim. The Thunder belong in Pluribus, because they string stops together with a shared consciousness that’s pure science fiction. The Spurs, meanwhile, have Victor Wembanyama, who is self-explanatory.
What else is there to look forward to? Everything! Who doesn’t want to see Shai Gilgeous-Alexander try to score against San Antonio’s switchy stable of quick-twitch defenders? Who can resist witnessing Wemby’s undisclosed vow to humiliate Chet Holmgren whenever he can? Is anyone not interested in watching Steph Castle and Jalen Williams blend world-class athleticism with bold, über-confident demeanors?
All the shit talk. All the edginess that spills out of a threatened champion. Alex Caruso’s “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog” approach to every possession. This is the game to watch if you’re even vaguely curious about the NBA. It’s bait. You are a fish. And if you couldn’t care less, I dare you to watch Wemby play for 10 minutes and then not google “san antonio spurs schedule” during the next commercial break. This one has it all.
