Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder play the San Antonio Spurs on Christmas Day, one of five NBA games broadcast that day. Here’s how to watch. (Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images)
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / Reuters)
If you didn’t already have enough going on on Christmas Day between opening presents and carving roast beast, the NBA has once again gifted us with a daylong roster of games to keep fans occupied well into the night. There are five NBA Christmas Day matchups, all of which will air on ABC and ESPN, and will stream on platforms like DirecTV, Fubo, and ESPN Unlimited.
Kicking things off at 12 p.m. ET is a game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and recently crowned NBA Cup winners, the New York Knicks. After that is a matchup between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder, followed by the Dallas Mavericks vs. Golden State Warriors, and the Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Lakers. The night will end with a 10:30 p.m. ET contest between the Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Denver Nuggets. After which point, you’ll be ready for a long winter’s nap.
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A complete schedule of the day’s events is below, including tip-off times, how to watch, and more. Here’s everything you need to know about this week’s Christmas Day NBA games.
Date: Thursday, Dec. 25
Time: 12 p.m., 2:30 p.m, 5 p.m., 8 p.m, 10:30 p.m. ET
TV channels: ABC, ESPN
Streaming: DirecTV, Fubo, ESPN Unlimited and more
The NBA’s Christmas Day games have been a part of the league’s schedule for years, and this year, there will be five back-to-back games broadcast on ABC and ESPN on Thursday. The schedule for the day is as follows:
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Thursday, December 25
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Cleveland Cavaliers vs. New York Knicks, 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT (ABC, ESPN)
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San Antonio Spurs vs. OKC Thunder, 2:30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. PT (ABC, ESPN)
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Dallas Mavericks vs. Golden State Warriors, 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT (ABC, ESPN)
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Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Lakers, 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT (ABC, ESPN)
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Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Denver Nuggets, 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT (ABC, ESPN)
How to watch the NBA on Christmas Day:
DIRECTV offers loads of great live channels, which means you can watch thousands of live sporting events like this week’s NBA games, live TV and more with a regular subscription. And right now, if you sign up for a DirecTV Entertainment package, you can get your first month for just $50, that’s a $40 savings over the regular rate. This plan includes access to channels carrying college bowl-season coverage, including ESPN, ABC, FOX, FS1, CBS, SEC Network, ACC Network, and additional sports networks. For movie lovers, you also get channels like AMC, Hallmark Channel, Freeform, Lifetime and more.
This promotion is good through Jan. 6, 2026.
ESPN’s revamped streaming platform offers thousands of exclusive live events, original studio shows and acclaimed series that air across ESPN’s suite of 7 linear channels, as well as exclusive content on ESPN+, ABC on ESPN, SEC+, ACCNX and some content from NFL Network and NFL RedZone. The new tier costs $29.99/month or $299.99/year.
Also of note, for its first year in existence, ESPN Unlimited includes “bundle” access to Disney+ and Hulu at no extra cost!
With a subscription to ESPN Unlimited, you’ll be able to watch every Christmas Day NBA game on the schedule.
Fubo’s new skinny sports bundle, Fubo Sports, includes local broadcast stations owned-and-operated by ABC, CBS and FOX, plus additional affiliates in select markets, as well as ACC Network, Big 10 Network, CBS Sports Network, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNews, ESPNU, Fox News, FS1, FS2, Fubo Sports Network, ION, NFL Network, SEC Network and Tennis Channel. It also includes free access to ESPN’s Unlimited plan. Fubo subscribers get unlimited cloud DVR storage too.
Note: this package does not include NBC.
You can get $10 off your first month, which brings the cost to $45.99; after that, it goes up to $55.99/month.
This Fubo package has you covered for all of this week’s Christmas Day NBA games, and still leaves you with major savings compared to a traditional cable package.
The platform offers a free trial period, so you can check it out for a few days this week and decide if it’s right for you.
