Christmas Day NBA Showdowns: Can Underdog Spurs Shock Thunder and Rockets Upset Lakers?

• Wembanyama and the Spurs against the defending champion Thunder could be the NBA’s best rivalry for the rest of this decade, putting in a prime slot on Christmas Day speaks to how the league office sees it that way.

One of those is Christmas Day — a showcase day that has always featured the biggest names and best teams in the NBA. This Christmas will be no different, if the schedule reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania is correct (and it almost certainly is):• During last season’s NBA Finals, both the Thunder and Pacers cited not being invited to play on Christmas Day as motivation for them during the season. Which team could be that squad this year? Keep an eye on young star Paolo Banchero and the Orlando Magic, they should have been on the bubble for making it to this day. Cade Cunningham and Detroit, as well as Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks, could also use this as fuel.• Once again the NBA has leaned into its older generation of stars — LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant — but it has done a better job of making sure the up-and-coming generation is in the spotlight, too. We are getting Victor Wembanyama, Anthony Edwards, Cooper Flagg, Amen Thompson, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams and Darius Garland. It’s better than past years, certainly better than recycling Giannis Antetokounmpo and a Bucks team with a lot of question marks just for the star power.• There are only two Eastern Conference teams on that list, the opening game of the day between the Knicks and Cavaliers. What that speaks to is the perceived gap heading into this season between the deep West and the East in a season where Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton will not be playing on Christmas Day as they recover from torn Achilles (if those guys had been healthy and those teams didn’t try to save money by trading away or letting key players walk, the Celtics and Pacers would have been busy on Christmas). • Did the NBA miss an opportunity by having Luka Doncic’s current and former teams both playing on Christmas but not facing each other?

• That Cavaliers vs. Knicks game might be the best game of the day. Next week, the 2025-26 NBA schedule will come out, but some of the highlights always tend to leak out first.• Cleveland Cavaliers at New York Knicks
• San Antonio Spurs at Oklahoma City Thunder
• Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Lakers
• Dallas Mavericks at Golden State Warriors
• Minnesota Timberwolves at Denver NuggetsThe holiday season is inching closer, and with it, the NBA’s grandest tradition — Christmas Day basketball — is once again poised to dazzle fans across the globe. While the full 2025-26 schedule will officially drop next week, a sneak peek has already escaped, revealing an electrifying lineup that promises a blend of seasoned legends and thrilling newcomers. This year’s slate includes some intriguing matchups: the Cavaliers taking on the Knicks, the Spurs clashing with the Thunder, and more marquee games that command attention. What grabs me most? The league’s savvy balancing act between spotlighting veterans like LeBron James and Stephen Curry while pushing a fresh crop of stars such as Victor Wembanyama and Amen Thompson into the limelight. Curiously, only a couple of Eastern Conference squads made the cut, hinting at that widening chasm between conferences — and with key players sidelined by injury, it’s a storyline worth watching. There’s fuel for motivation too, seen last season when teams snubbed from the Christmas stage used it as a fire beneath their season. So who will be next year’s hungry underdog? Oh, and let’s not forget the spicy “what-if” — why didn’t Luka Doncic face his former team on such a high-profile day? One thing’s clear: the Spurs-Thunder showdown could be the defining rivalry of this decade, making Christmas Day not just a showcase but a foreshadowing of basketball’s evolving landscape. Curious to dive deeper into the full rundown and compelling insights? LEARN MORE.Here are a few quick thoughts on that list: