This week is 2025-26 NBA schedule release week, meaning the entirety of the regular season schedule is expected to be released on Thursday. But first, the league is announcing major games on important days of the calendar to get fans excited for this year’s primetime slate. And one of the most important days of the year is Christmas Day, especially for Los Angeles Lakers fans.
The Lakers are a mainstay of Christmas Day, even before they had two of the league’s most marketable superstars in LeBron James and Luka Doncic. But adding Doncic at last season’s trade deadline ensured L.A.’s place on Christmas Day for the foreseeable future. This Dec. 25, the Lakers will face Kevin Durant, Amen Thompson and the Houston Rockets.
The Lakers and Rockets facing off on Christmas Day has been known for nearly a week. However, the NBA officially announced on Tuesday that the game will take place in the fourth slot of the day, tipping off at 5:00 p.m. PT on ABC and ESPN:
The NBA will feature five games on Christmas Day (Thursday, Dec. 25) for the 18th consecutive year, with ABC and ESPN both televising each matchup. pic.twitter.com/GjmfyljacD
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) August 12, 2025
This Christmas Day slate has been known for some time now, but it’s worth breaking down just how exciting ABC and ESPN’s quintuple-header is going to be. The day begins with the Cleveland Cavaliers facing the New York Knicks at 9:00 a.m. PT, a battle between what are expected to be the two Eastern Conference powerhouses this season.
The NBA then shifts West for the remaining four battles. At 11:30 a.m., the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder host Victor Wembanyama, De’Aaron Fox and the San Antonio Spurs. At 2:00, Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors face Anthony Davis, Cooper Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks in San Francisco, followed by Rockets-Lakers in L.A.
And finally, to cap off the exciting slate, the NBA transitions to Denver for one of the league’s best recent on-court rivalries with Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets hosting Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves. That game tips off at 7:30 p.m.
Lakers hosting Warriors on Opening Night
The Rockets, Thunder, Warriors and Lakers are all a part of NBA’s Opening Night on Tuesday, October 21. Houston heads to Oklahoma City for ring night, while Curry and Jimmy Butler head down to L.A. to face the Lakers.
Tip off is at 4:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. PT on NBC and Peacock, the new home of NBA basketball.
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