The NBA’s 2026 Christmas Day schedule will feature five games, including LeBron James’ return to Los Angeles with the Philadelphia 76ers and Giannis Antetokounmpo’s first Christmas matchup with the Miami Heat. Shams Charania reported Tuesday that the five-game slate will air across ABC and ESPN.
The Christmas Day schedule is Spurs at Knicks, Heat at Celtics, 76ers at Lakers, Thunder at Timberwolves and Nuggets at Warriors.
The most prominent reunion comes in Los Angeles, where James will face the Lakers after leaving the franchise in free agency for Philadelphia. James spent eight seasons with Los Angeles and helped the Lakers win the 2020 NBA championship.
Philadelphia will also bring another major change to the matchup. Jaylen Brown joined the 76ers in a trade with Boston, setting up a Christmas meeting with his former team later in the season when Philadelphia visits the Celtics.
The 76ers finished the 2025-26 regular season 45-37, seventh in the Eastern Conference, before advancing through the first round by defeating Boston 4-3. Their postseason ended in the conference semifinals, where the Knicks swept Philadelphia 4-0.
The Lakers finished fourth in the Western Conference at 53-29 before being swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the conference semifinals. Los Angeles won 53 games last season, while Philadelphia won 45, giving the Christmas matchup two teams that reached the second round.
Miami’s visit to Boston will feature another major offseason storyline. The Heat acquired Giannis Antetokounmpo from Milwaukee in a blockbuster trade, adding the two-time MVP to a roster that went 43-39 and finished 10th in the East during the 2025-26 regular season.
Boston finished second in the conference at 56-26 but lost to Philadelphia in seven games in the opening round. The Celtics will therefore face Antetokounmpo after losing Brown, their former cornerstone, to Philadelphia.
The Christmas slate also includes a rematch of the 2026 NBA Finals, with San Antonio visiting New York. The Knicks defeated the Spurs 4-1 in the Finals, winning Game 5 in San Antonio 94-90 to secure the championship.
The Spurs finished the regular season 62-20, second in the West, while New York went 53-29 and finished third in the East. San Antonio reached the Finals after defeating Oklahoma City 4-3 in the Western Conference finals, while the Knicks swept Cleveland 4-0 in the East.
Oklahoma City will visit Minnesota in another matchup between Western Conference playoff teams. The Thunder posted the NBA’s best regular-season record at 64-18, while Minnesota went 49-33 and reached the conference semifinals before losing to San Antonio 4-2.
The final Christmas game pairs Denver and Golden State. The Nuggets finished third in the West at 54-28, while the Warriors went 37-45 and entered the playoffs through the play-in tournament.
Charania also reported that the regular season will open Oct. 20 with a triple-header. Philadelphia will visit New York, Oklahoma City will visit San Antonio and Detroit will face Boston in the afternoon, with the opening-night games airing on NBC.
