The NBA plays five games on Friday, December 25, 2026, and all five are on ABC and ESPN. San Antonio Spurs at New York Knicks opens the day at 12:00 p.m. ET, and Denver Nuggets at Golden State Warriors closes it at 10:30 p.m. ET.
NBA Christmas Day schedule
| Tip-off (ET) | Game | Arena | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00 p.m. | San Antonio Spurs at New York Knicks | Madison Square Garden, New York | ABC, ESPN |
| 2:30 p.m. | Miami Heat at Boston Celtics | TD Garden, Boston | ABC, ESPN |
| 5:00 p.m. | Philadelphia 76ers at Los Angeles Lakers | Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles | ABC, ESPN |
| 8:00 p.m. | Oklahoma City Thunder at Minnesota Timberwolves | Target Center, Minneapolis | ABC, ESPN |
| 10:30 p.m. | Denver Nuggets at Golden State Warriors | Chase Center, San Francisco | ABC, ESPN |
The last two games tip off at 8:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Eastern, which is 5:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Pacific. The schedule is ESPN’s, read on November 1, 2026.
Where the ten teams stand
Records as ESPN listed them at 10:22 a.m. ET on November 1, 2026, early in the 2026-27 season. They will change by Christmas, and this table changes with them.
| Game | Away record | Home record |
|---|---|---|
| Spurs at Knicks | San Antonio 4-2 | New York 2-4 |
| Heat at Celtics | Miami 2-4 | Boston 4-1 |
| 76ers at Lakers | Philadelphia 6-1 | Los Angeles 4-2 |
| Thunder at Timberwolves | Oklahoma City 4-2 | Minnesota 4-3 |
| Nuggets at Warriors | Denver 3-2 | Golden State 3-3 |
Philadelphia, at 6-1, sat first in ESPN’s Eastern Conference standings at that read. The Knicks and the Heat are the two Christmas teams with losing records, both 2-4.
NBA Christmas Day odds
Lines were already up on October 23. These are the DraftKings numbers as listed on ESPN at 15:22 UTC (10:22 a.m. ET) on November 1, 2026, with both sides of every market.
| Game | Spread (away / home) | Total (over / under) | Moneyline (away / home) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spurs at Knicks | Spurs -1.5 (-105) / Knicks +1.5 (-115) | 228.5: -110 / -110 | Spurs -115 / Knicks -105 |
| Heat at Celtics | Heat +5.5 (-102) / Celtics -5.5 (-118) | 230.5: -110 / -110 | Heat +180 / Celtics -218 |
| 76ers at Lakers | 76ers +1.5 (-115) / Lakers -1.5 (-105) | 237.5: +100 / -120 | 76ers -105 / Lakers -115 |
| Thunder at Timberwolves | Thunder -3.5 (-110) / Timberwolves +3.5 (-110) | 234.5: -110 / -110 | Thunder -155 / Timberwolves +130 |
| Nuggets at Warriors | Nuggets -2.5 (-110) / Warriors +2.5 (-110) | 235.5: -110 / -110 | Nuggets -135 / Warriors +114 |
Three of the five favorites are on the road: San Antonio, Oklahoma City and Denver. The highest total on the day is 76ers at Lakers at 237.5, and the lowest is Spurs at Knicks at 228.5.
What moved since October 23
The first game of the day changed favorites. On October 23 DraftKings had the Knicks -1.5 and -115 on the moneyline; on November 1 it has the Spurs -1.5 and -115. Boston also lengthened against Miami, from -185 to -218, with the Heat going from +154 to +180.
The Thunder spread came down a point, from -4.5 to -3.5, with the moneyline still -155. The Nuggets at Warriors total dropped five points, from 240.5 to 235.5, and Denver went from -130 to -135. The 76ers at Lakers lines stayed at 1.5 and 237.5, though the over now pays +100 and the under -120, against -110 each on October 23.
Lines this far out move with injuries and form, so check the current price before you bet. Two of the five spreads, Spurs -1.5 and Lakers -1.5, are under two points.
Our NBA Christmas Day predictions
Our prediction for each of the five games goes up in the days before December 25, with the pick and the price it was made at. They will be listed on our NBA predictions page, with every other NBA game we cover.
The odds above are the market’s numbers, read on November 1. None of the five games has a prediction of ours yet, and the picks come with the predictions.
Last year’s Christmas Day results
The NBA also played five games on Thursday, December 25, 2025, all on ABC and ESPN. The final scores, from ESPN:
| Game | Final |
|---|---|
| Cleveland Cavaliers at New York Knicks | Knicks 126, Cavaliers 124 |
| San Antonio Spurs at Oklahoma City Thunder | Spurs 117, Thunder 102 |
| Dallas Mavericks at Golden State Warriors | Warriors 126, Mavericks 116 |
| Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Lakers | Rockets 119, Lakers 96 |
| Minnesota Timberwolves at Denver Nuggets | Nuggets 142, Timberwolves 138 (OT) |
The Knicks, Spurs, Thunder, Warriors, Lakers, Timberwolves and Nuggets played on Christmas Day 2025 and play again in 2026. New York is at home on Christmas for the second year running, at Madison Square Garden.
Sources: ESPN NBA scoreboard for December 25, 2026 (schedule, arenas, TV, records, DraftKings odds) and ESPN NBA standings, read November 1, 2026 at 15:22 UTC; October 23 prices from the same scoreboard read at 23:38 UTC that day; ESPN NBA scoreboard for December 25, 2025 (results), read October 23, 2026.