[Charania] NBA Christmas Day 2026 on ABC and ESPN
NBA Christmas Day 2026 on ABC and ESPN:
https://www.espn.com/contributor/shams-charania/f7c87031df586
ofc they let Bron spend christmas in LA š
He’s worked on Christmas every year of his career, they had to throw him a bone
Those old ass bones canāt handle those cold winters for too longĀ
Probably his last Christmas game ever
2 more years after this one. 25 total. Calling it.
Bron could get 10-5-5 at 50years old.
On 60% FG and 60% FT
We’ll find out soon enough.
Physically yeah. But with the mental fatigue, there’s zero chance.
yup. heāll get gold in the ā28 olympics and call it a career.
Yep. I think LeBron, Djokovic and Serena will all retire at the LA Olympics. Goats of industry.
Serena in doubles? There’s no way she’s getting a spot in singles
It’d be just one year after this one to get to 25
That would be one more year. This will be his 24th season
lebron is 41, this fuckery won’t go on for much longer
10 years ago: “LeBron is 31, this fuckery won’t go on for much longer”
Is that a threat? š
Gets to be with his family. W for him tbh
This is what Adam Silver was waiting for
Silver wiping his mouth clean as we speak
[deleted]
I’m just picturing Mark from RDCWorld in the bald cap
Mannnn. This is wildddd. ššš
Hey theyāre letting him spend Christmas with his son!!
I never really liked how much a single player can influence the whole league, to the point of major scheduling decisions are based on his wants. And now it’s just strange cause he’s on my favorite team.
40 year old Steph and friends Warriors still getting Christmas games in 2027
Steph is just a ratings draw. Also it makes sense for them to play Denver for West Coat hours.
Even geriatric Steph in tanking team would be good draw
gets really dark if he is injured, which unfortunately is not unlikely. But makes sense that they would want him to play on xmas.
Itās dark if heās healthy too. They are def the worst team to get a Christmas game sinceā¦the warriors in 2020. Apparently steph could pick 4 fans out the crowd for teammates and still play on Christmas.Ā
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Itās funny bc I always feel like Steph plays below his level on Christmas games
I would also if I wanted to be home listening to Christmas music and opening presents with my family and watching 24 hours of A Christmas Story š
Well Steph is still a top 2 most popular athlete in the sport
And KD isnāt featured on opening night or Christmas Day
KD doesn’t matter in 2026
2026*
He’s not 40 yet
Great games all around.
That Spurs v Knicks Christmas game in 2024 was fire. Glad to see theyāre bringing back this matchup post Knicks title win
Knicks getting the 12pm Christmas Day game is a time-honored tradition now
They need to defend their back 2 back Dunk the Halls championships.
the dunk the halls 3peat banner next to the nba cup banner š„
NBA wants to make this a marquee rivalry with the NBA Cup and Finals. I like itĀ
Another Mikal 40 piece incoming
Don’t you mean Donald Duck?
OKC - Wolves is fine, but if the Nuggets are getting a christmas game too then it should always just be Nuggets - Wolves as they are one of the few rivalries in the league.
Warriors probably shouldnt be getting more christmas games.
Nuggets Warriors makes sense for the late night game for west coast time zones.
Nuggets Wolves was cinema last christmas. But i think it makes more sense for the league for nuggets warriors as the last game
Nuggets Suns from 2023 was probably the best Christmas game Iāve ever watched. All punctuated by that insane dunk in OT
OKC - Wolves is fine if you hate your family and want to be in a bad mood on Christmas anyways
See I disagree
The only bad part about DEN/MIN on Christmas is that they would almost certainly have that game tip off at 9:30pm.
As long as Curry is on the Warriors, they will continue to have that kind of spotlight.
One of the first games last season was Nuggets at Warriors and it was absolutely amazing. Aaron Gordon career high, Steph 40 piece, and it went to overtime.
Wolves and Nuggets are undeniably a great rivalry though, their playoff series have been absolute cinema
From a basketball perspective yea, but Curry still draws more eyeballs.
Wouldāve preferred Sixers at Celtics
They play eachother 4 times in the season. It probably wonāt be a thing by Christmas lol.
Iām sure they will play rivalry week
No way you donāt miss a chance at having lebron play in LA on Xmas. That was a lob for Adam silver
Regardless people will still watch because LeBron returning to LA and Luka is super popular too.
Agreed missed opportunity to not have 76ers at Celtics but I understand how āLeBron returns to his former teamā is a bigger narrative draw than āJalen returns to his former teamā even with all mixed feelings for the latter.
I think itās less than and more throwing LeBron a bone by giving him a āhomeā game on Xmas Day.
Thunder-Pacers would’ve been cool, a double dip on Finals rematches is something we never get to see
But remember it’s the Pacers. We’re one of those peasant teams that never play on Christmas.
Pacers-Knicks would’ve been killer but I understand the league putting the Spurs there. Especially with the NFL laying claim to Christmas nowadays, you can’t really get cute with the matchups.
Pacers Knicks in the garden on Christmas would be epic but the league will never do it.
Because there are better options.
Maybe the Pacers will have a chance when they aren’t coming off a tanking season.
The Pacers won 19 games last year.
Obviously it’s reasonable to believe they’ll be a much better team with a healthy Haliburton, but I don’t blame the league for not wanting to take that risk.
You know what.. this wouldāve been actually crazy as hell and I didnāt even think about this.. damn that wouldāve been cool
@ lakers????? Omfg šŖ
I thought it would be against Boston for JBās homecoming but I understand that more people are interested in Bronās revenge game against us.
> Bronās revenge game against us
What revenge? Everything is cordial there, there is no animosity like that
Revenge????? Their letting him be home for christmas lmao
Not revenge in terms of hatred, but just him playing against us.
Maybe he does dislike us though, because Rob, in Bronās view, may have disrespected him since the Luka trade by not offering him an extension in the 2025 and 2026 offseasons.
I think thereās more lakers fans aka more viewers. Sixers fan dgaf about playing the lakers. Thereās nothing interesting about the matchup contrary to playing Boston
Also neutrals interested in seeing Bron play on his old teamās court.
Thatās true. But Philly vs Boston is an east coast classic
It might be the most fun game of the day. You know it’s gonna be in the 120s/130s late in the fourth, and Luka will probably have a last second shot to win it
Why the hell are we playing against Warriors, what’s going on here?
Such strange matchups to me outside of Spurs/Knicks and Sixers/Lakers
Wolves/Nuggets is evergeeen and was right there
Thunder Timberwolves sounds fire tho icl. It could end up being a mismatch but if the lamelo/ant backcourt reaches its potential, we might get an all-time great RS game
The Wolves have gone 2-2 against the thunder the previous two regular seasons as well. They are always good games
How is Wolves/Nuggets evergreen to you but not Heat/Celtics, basically the predominant eastern conference rivalry of the century lol
Not against the wolves atleast thank fuck, I must admit the last Christmas game we had against them was amazing
Was such a banger. All the games were but most end at 2 am ET š
We usually fail the “Have a normal, unremarkable game” test. It feels like every time we play somebody goes off or it’s down to the wire or something wacky happens.
AtĀ leastĀ we avoided them. I hope weĀ don’tĀ see them more than four timesĀ aĀ year.
If I see another playoffs series against them I probably wonāt make it alive by the end of it.
at this point i think it is mandatory viewing for you guys
Because NBA needs a good west coast game
Because Steph Curry
The Nuggets are the only winnable matchup for the Warriors and no way was Silver going to leave Steph Curry off of the Christmas slate
Respectfully they fumbled a bit. First 3 are good but I feel we shouldāve seen Nuggets vs wolves again bc why not and Thunder vs pacers.
If the season was just 82 Nuggets Wolves games, I’d be happy
By game 10 all players would either be suspended or too injured from how physical the games are lol
Players would end up in jail
last christmas nuggets wolves was so good. one of the best christmas games iāve ever watched
You would be miserable!
Your heart would be in tatters from the stress!!
Itās Steph Curry, if he is healthy, he is the biggest show in the NBA
People are failing to see this ššš. He is legitimately the biggest draw alongside Lebron in the league
Yea I donāt understand the last two at all
We will never get a Christmas Game
I yearn for the day my team plays on Christmas day
I am kinda irked the west got 6 teams when the warriors are a play-in at best and nuggets best years are behind them
I got my hopes up for Hali’s return to MSG on Xmas day. Should’ve known better
I guess NBA officials assume Hali will take time to ramp up from his injury.
I’m personally looking forward for those Indiana matchups.
There was someone on Twitter who made a fake post of pacers having a Christmas game a few weeks ago and I got my hopes up š
assuming there will be a second half Saturday primetime game mixed in there
I can’t lie - I was hoping for Pacers/Knicks opening night…but LBJ is too powerful for the NBA
The Pacers were bad last year and plenty of questions surround the team this year so I kinda get it. Just always disappointed to see my team get no National TV love.
As long as the Warriors have Steph and the Nugs have Jokic, the quality of teams don’t matter that much.
NBA is a player centric league.
not really fair if you watched the nuggets game last christmas that was an all-timer
Warriors robbed us of Wolves Nuggets again. But overall still good games
Tbh, Im kinda sick of Wolves Nuggets on Christmas. I like this matchup, it usually makes for some great comeback games for both teams.
The games are just too good. Last year we had a completely bonkers OT game with everything you want from proper superstar performances from Ant and Jokic, crazy comebacks in the same game, Ant getting ejecte.
They weren’t very good games in the playoffs (disrespectfully) when the Wolves were missing their entire starting backcourt and still put belt to ass. lol
Wolves/Nuggets have only played on Christmas once. But I agree Iād rather have something different than just a repeat of last year. And itās nice to finally get one of these at home.
Warriors shouldnāt be here because they are bad. I know they have Steph, but you could have done Rockets with KD instead and had them vs OKC. You could then have Wolves vs Nuggets.
No one cares about Houston and no one wants to watch Sengun hoops on Christmas
šš I mean itās more so about Kevin Durant.
They should have done rockets warriors. Nuggets Timberwolves.
But Thunder has to play someone I guess lol
“No one cares about Houston and no one wants to watch Sengun hoop”
Could have ended it there.
Could have done Pacers @ Knicks, had Spurs @ Denver for Wemby vs Jokic, and kept OKC @ Wolves
Warriors/Nuggets atp is a lot closer a match lol.
Adam Silver and the league kinda agree with you, I guess.
No Sixers @ Celtics? Thatās fucked
League donāt care about JB like that once Bron came
LeBron is significantly more popular than JB
Obviously but Sixers/Celtics is the spicier game in terms of views, everybody except Celtics fans has been yearning to see Tatum and Brown play against each other
Lebrons return to LA has significantly more ratings draw then Browns return to Boston
Silvers gotta let Lebron spend xmas at home in LA
Bron really has the influence to say if your gonna make me play on christmas let me celebrate christmas at home lol
As he should
So no Philly vs Boston on either opening night or Christmas??
Lol
Wednesday at 7:30 in November and you better like it
Spurs vs Knicks again? Letās get it
They easily nailed the Knicks games for Opening Night and Christmas Day
Bron apparently (and I guess understandably) still puts more weight in the balance than the Brown-Tatum storyline which couldāve led to a 76ers-Celtics matchup. Interesting how the old man is really still one of the faces of the league.
As a warriors fan, why are we playing on christmas that’s crazy
Steph is fun to watch no matter what
Why would you not. Itās a top 3 fanbase
Fair I just donāt think we are going to be really good just that people want to see Steph play which I get because I do too I was just a bit surprised thatās all
Yea Christmas games are about popularity. Warriors will have one for the foreseeable future. Just like the Lakers will always have one
Greatest showman in basketball on ur team, plus super large market
wtf where is jazz wizards?
Geez an Eagles game Christmas Eve and Sixers game middle of Christmas Day, my wife is going to inevitably get pissed over this.
42ish yrs old still getting a Christmas game is crazy
Should’ve been Sixers Celtics
Where Hornets?
lol
So instead of Detroit, Cleveland, Houston, Orlando, Atlanta or Torontoā¦ a 37 win Warriors team gets a game.
And the nba wonders why ratings are bad when the few superstars you focus on arenāt in the finals.
Nuggets vs wolves is way more interesting than that okc game
Why do people want to keep spamming nuggets wolves theyāve played each other 30 something times the last 4 years i think we can start popularizing other matchups now
Because it’s one of the best rivalries in the NBA today and it’s important to enjoy it while the players that hate each other still play on both teams.
Does this also not apply to Thunder/Wolves??
Sure but I’d say Nuggets Wolves is the bigger rivalry between the two
Thereās like a 4 way rivalry between the Nuggets/Spurs/Twolves/Thunder rn and sometimes I think the emphasis on the specific matchups of Spurs v Thunder and Nuggets v Wolves is a little overdone when any combination of those 4 teams playing is usually competitive
Playing more games vs Denver doesnāt mean their rivalry is less interesting than okc, especially after the last playoffs series between them.
Was hoping for Pacers/Knicks or Bucks/Heat for the bad blood
They aren’t wasting an Xmas slot on the 2027 Bucks
The people want to see Herro vs Adebayo Round 2 š„
I would have preferred the Rockets than the Nuggets to be honest
They chosen Bron being back to LA instead Jaylen back to Boston hmm
LeBron is way more popular than JB on a baseline level, it’s not any more complicated than that
Rams/Seahawks much better than the late NBA games
But overall not bad
Your average NFL game will always stomp your average NBA game. NFL games just mean so much more than NBA games.
1/17th vs 1/82nd
oof my pistonsš
That’s already the opening night
Knicks Spurs Christmas 2.0
Thank God! Last thing I needed was JB yamming on Tatum and ruining my Christmas š„²
Thunder vs Spurs Knicks vs Pacers Celtics vs 76ers Lakers vs Heat Timberwolves vs Nuggets
Thunder v Spurs is opening night. Iām guessing they wanted to deviate from that. Iām with the Thunder v Pacers crowd. Or Rockets. Always enjoyable to beat KD.
Thunder Wolves and Nuggets Warriors? Crappy ending. Would rather have Nuggets Wolves again.
Glad we have opening night but also a biased belief that we sould have a Christmas game.
Your opening ānightā game is at 3pm ET on a Tuesday. Really weird scheduling.
I wanted to ruin Bostonās Christmas :/
FTC
Iām gonna spend the day of the birth of our lord Jesus Christ by calling Wemby a pussy drunk on egg nog
Damn I thought Detroit wouldāve gotten a spot
I know they went out in a bad way in the 2nd round, but I think Detroit after being a 1 seed deserved a Christmas game
Isn’t not having to play on Christmas a reward?
Spurs Vs Knicks Part II
Why are the washed warriors getting a Xmas game over so many more deserving teams??? Nuggets x Rockets wouldāve been fire or Blazers x Nuggets.
Warriors have no relevancy anymore.
The Finals rematch being the opening game rather than being played later in the day is nuts.
Knicks always get 12pm
No KD
This should let you know that the cavs should break it up
spurs vs knicks and 4 blowouts
West coast teams typically donāt get the early slot right?
After watching Kofieās video on LouWill playing drunk at MSG during a 12pm game, can the Knicks v Spurs plz be like in the evening lol.
yea clippers bout to be punished
Bron dropping 40 pcs on junior on Christmas Day to cap off an amazing career will be amazing
Thank god itās not the Celtics I was so tired of playing them all these years, something new and fresh finally
Which game do you think will have the animated alternate broadcast?
Is [Charania] shorthand for [reads a press release]?
Dear Lord just put us out of our misery and let us have Christmas in peaceĀ
Tbh I’d flex gsw out of this altogether. Get Knicks Pacers, then go Thunder Spurs and Denver Minnesota.