Christmas Day NBA on Sky Sports: OG Anunoby, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander vs Victor Wembanyama, LeBron James, Steph Curry, Nikola Jokic and more
Catch FIVE NBA games live on Sky Sports on Christmas Day/Boxing Day with the festive action including Houston Rockets @ LA Lakers and Dallas Mavericks @ Golden State Warriors; LeBron James, Steph Curry, Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama among players set to light up your screens
Monday 22 December 2025 19:20, UK
The NBA's Christmas Day game has been a tradition since 1947 and continues to showcase some of the league's biggest teams and superstars.
Teams and players have a chance to make a name for themselves as the eyes of the world tune in to this year's five marquee matchups.
To help preview the fixtures, we spoke to former NBA player and champion with the Miami Heat, Jason Williams, to see what intrigues him about the Christmas Day schedule….
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Cleveland Cavaliers @ New York Knicks
5pm, Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports+
Christmas Day begins in the home of many festive films, New York City, where the Knicks will welcome the Cleveland Cavaliers to Madison Square Garden. An iconic Christmas location will feature two of the Eastern Conference's strongest teams.
The Knicks are fresh from recently lifting the NBA Cup after an impressive win over the San Antonio Spurs. While Jalen Brunson is seen as the side's central figure, London-born forward OG Anunoby is quietly building a case for his first All-Star selection.
Anunoby was the leading scorer in the Cup final and according to Williams, is doing all the right things to earn his place at All-Star Weekend. When asked what more Anunoby needs to do, Williams' advice was simple: "Keep winning and mounting those wins, and that'll take care of the All-Star selection when it needs to be taken care of."
The Cavs, meanwhile, were the best regular-season team in the Eastern Conference last season, finishing with a 61-21 record, but have since struggled to recapture that form.
Donovan Mitchell, who still exudes superstar confidence, has been upfront about his team's below-par performances.
The Knicks have played in more Christmas Day games than any other NBA team and this year, a festive victory over the Cavs, combined with their win in the NBA Cup final, could provide them with the perfect platform for a run at their first championship since 1973.
San Antonio Spurs @ Oklahoma City Thunder
7.30pm, Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports+
The second game of the day provides our first superstar clash. Last year's MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, takes on the lofty challenge of the 21-year-old, 7ft 5in centre, Victor Wembanyama, as the Thunder welcome the Spurs to Oklahoma City.
When asked what has excited Williams about this season so far, he said: "I'm really excited about the parity. Other than OKC, who seem to be a level above everybody else".
Last year's NBA champions, the Thunder, have picked up where they left off and at the time of writing, have just two losses, along with the best record in the league.
Two teams touted with next-generation superstars, Williams was unequivocal in his praise of Gilgeous-Alexander and Wembanyama.
"Both of them are special and unique," he said. "To be honest with you, I didn't think Wemby was going to be as good as he is. I thought it would take him a couple of years, and he would come along a little bit slower than he has, but man, was I wrong!"
On Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams added: "Shai is just…I mean, it's just loss for words. Just as soon as you think that he's as good as he can be, he takes it a step higher and raises his team to another level."
The stakes were raised even higher on this game after the Spurs eliminated OKC from the NBA Cup earlier this month. A meeting of arguably the two best teams and the two best individual players in the league, Spurs vs Thunder is a guaranteed Christmas cracker.
Dallas Mavericks @ Golden State Warriors
10pm, Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports+
Steph Curry's style of play has captured the imagination of a generation of basketball fans across the globe. Approaching his 38th birthday in March, Curry's evergreen talents will be pitted against the abilities of a player almost 20 years his junior, 18-year-old Cooper Flagg, who was this year's No 1 draft pick.
In late November, Flagg's 42-point haul against the Utah Jazz broke the NBA record for most points by an 18-year-old. With injuries to several important team-mates, continual improvements on the court throughout Flagg's rookie season have seen him develop into an offensive fulcrum for the Mavericks.
Another interesting aspect to this game is Curry's reunion with former team-mate, Klay Thompson. The "Splash Brothers" won four championships together over 12 years, setting numerous scoring records along the way.
Two of the greatest three-point shooters to play the game, their identities as players are so intertwined that it still seems strange to see them on opposing teams, almost two years since Klay's departure from the Warriors.
Curry draws high praise from Williams, who also played point guard during his 12-year NBA career: "The way he can shoot the basketball, I think he could probably play till he was 60 if he wanted to. He could stand in the corner all day and defensively, if his man left him, it's going to be a knock-down 3-pointer.
"If he chose to play that long, he could. I think he's probably the best point guard to ever play the game, definitely the best shooter that I've ever seen.
"I think we're pretty lucky to see, as sports fans, let alone NBA fans, to see some of these athletes that we get to see. And Steph Wardell Curry is definitely one of them."
Houston Rockets @ LA Lakers
1am Friday December 26, Sky Sports+
One of the glitziest games of the Christmas Day schedule sees LeBron James' Lakers face off against a rejuvenated Rockets side, led by Kevin Durant. Now 40 and 37 respectively, the game is set to be a highly competitive meeting between teams led by two of the league's veteran superstars.
Like Steph Curry, Durant's elite shooting touch has helped extend his prime well into his 30s, with a playing style focused on technical ability over athleticism. That isn't to say KD doesn't possess an outstanding all-round game. Earlier this month he became the third fastest player to 30,000 points, 5,000 rebounds and 5,000 assists, second only to Michael Jordan and LeBron.
Williams had huge praise for KD, but also highlighted the Rockets' talented Turkish centre, Alperen Şengün, as one to watch.
"I'm a huge KD fan. You could take him and drop him on any roster in the NBA, and I think they instantly become a playoff contender. But I don't think Şengün is getting talked about as much as he should. He's quietly going about his business and doing what he's supposed to do. e's a big-time player."
At the other end of the court, the Lakers are hoping Luka Dončić recovers from injury in time to team up with LeBron, who is set to participate in a record-breaking 20th Christmas Day game, an all-time NBA record. LeBron will turn 41 before the end of December and when asked what goals he might have left, Williams replied: "What else is left for him to do? He's already done everything else, so I think just winning championships is all that it's about now."
While LeBron's retirement once seemed a distant possibility, it is quickly becoming an impending reality. Williams is full of praise for James and believes he doesn't always receive the praise he deserves.
"I think we, as fans, we take LeBron James' career for granted. We just expect him to have 25 points, 15 rebounds, and eight assists every night. I think he should have won a couple more MVPs, in my opinion, but they just didn't give it to him because it was someone else's turn. Now, that doesn't mean the next guy doesn't deserve the MVP, but I just we take LeBron James for granted."
Minnesota Timberwolves @ Denver Nuggets
3.30am Friday December 26, Sky Sports+
In the final game of the NBA's Christmas Day schedule, those who stay up into the early hours of Boxing Day morning will see a showdown between one of the league's emerging rivalries, as the Denver Nuggets play the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Like the Gilgeous-Alexander v Wembanyama matchup earlier in the day, this game features two of the NBA's biggest current talents in Nikola Jokić and Anthony Edwards. Williams said: "Jokić is one of the best, if not the best, player in the NBA and Edwards is right on his heels. He's trying to take that throne from him."
For the Nuggets, Jokić is a three-time MVP winner whose on-ball talents have seen him labelled the best passing centre of all-time. In a sport that often prioritises physicality, Jokić stands apart, his style defined by elite basketball IQ and court vision.
Earlier in December, "Joker" broke the record for most assists by a centre in NBA history, eclipsing a 35-year record set by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Even more impressively, he achieved the feat in a staggering 789 fewer games, a testament to his unique talents.
In contrast to Jokić, Edwards' style is predicated on a tenacious approach to the game, underlined by high-flying, explosive athleticism.
Equally determined off the court, despite initial draft concerns over his range, Edwards has developed into an elite long-range shooter, leading the NBA for three-pointers made during the 24-25 season, while also becoming the youngest player in NBA history to make 1,000 threes.
Contracted with the Timberwolves until 2029, how Edwards develops will define the future of the franchise.
With both teams having eliminated each other in the 2023 and 2024 postseason, the Nuggets-Timberwolves rivalry remains one of the NBA's most hotly-anticipated fixtures.
A blockbuster Christmas Day schedule concludes with one of the highlights of the evening.
