The NBA’s Christmas Day slate is out, and the headliner practically picked itself: LeBron James back in Los Angeles, with the Philadelphia 76ers facing his former Lakers in the day’s biggest showcase.
It’s the kind of matchup the league loves to put under the brightest lights. James and Luka Doncic will be on opposite sides after spending the last two seasons together, which only raises the intrigue around a game already built around star power.
There’s plenty else on the schedule worth circling, too. Giannis Antetokounmpo is in the mix in a new setting, LaMelo Ball joins the holiday stage, and Victor Wembanyama gets another crack at Madison Square Garden in a rematch of the NBA Finals.
Here’s how the games stack up:
No. 5: Denver Nuggets at Golden State Warriors
This one brings Nikola Jokic and Stephen Curry together, which is enough to make it worth watching even if neither side looks like a true title threat in 2026-27. The 10:30 p.m. ET start on Christmas Day is a brutal assignment, though.
No. 4: Oklahoma City Thunder at Minnesota Timberwolves
The Timberwolves get a shot at revenge in a rematch of the 2025 Western Conference Finals, after dropping that series in five games. LaMelo Ball’s arrival changes the look of this matchup, and it also gives Shai Gilgeous-Alexander a tougher defensive assignment while adding another big TV draw next to Anthony Edwards.
No. 3: Miami Heat at Boston Celtics
These were the two teams at the center of the Giannis sweepstakes, and Boston’s offseason took a sharp turn after it missed out. The Celtics responded by trading Jaylen Brown to the rival 76ers for a 36-year-old Paul George, and a big Giannis performance in TD Garden would only pour more pressure on Jayson Tatum and the Celtics.
No. 2: San Antonio Spurs at New York Knicks
The Knicks dominated the Spurs in the NBA Finals, and that history gives Wembanyama extra fuel heading into this one. He’ll get another chance to show off his one-of-one game at Madison Square Garden, while New York has a chance to send a message by slowing him down again.
No. 1: Philadelphia 76ers at Los Angeles Lakers
This is the game that stands above the rest. The 76ers and Lakers have reshaped their rosters around James and Doncic, and now the two stars meet in a matchup that carries real juice because of everything that came before it. James will be looking to remind the Lakers what they’re missing, and that’s the kind of scenario every opposing coach dreads.
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Brunson also made clear he is not treating this as some final ride, nor is he content to simply enjoy the moment and move on. He wants the championship retained, not remembered, and his recent wrist issue seems to have sharpened that urgency. The tone he struck was less about basking in what the Knicks just accomplished than about refusing to let the moment linger too long. [Read more 🡒]
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New York answered by bringing in Andre Drummond, a move that gives the Knicks some interior insurance but not a full stand-in for what Robinson provided. The broader backdrop only adds to the sense that the NBA's current financial rules are reshaping decisions across the league, with Russell Westbrook's retirement and his agent's comments on the collective bargaining agreement underscoring how much the system now influences both roster building and player movement. [Read more 🡒]
Lakers Sale Just Changed How Knicks Fans See Dolans Price
The Lakers agreement to sell for $12.5 billion has quickly become the kind of NBA number that makes every other franchise owner and every rival fan do a double take. For Knicks fans, it has added a fresh layer to the long-running conversation about what one of the leagues most visible brands might be worth now, especially with the Lakers moving past a previous $10 billion valuation and resetting the market in a big way.
James Dolan, though, has given no public hint that the Knicks are anywhere near changing hands. So the real effect of the Lakers deal in New York is less about an imminent sale than about what it says about the ceiling for marquee teams, and how much higher that ceiling may have climbed for a franchise that already sits at the center of the NBA spotlight. [Read more 🡒]