NBA Christmas games in 2026, ranked from worst to best

The 2026-27 NBA schedule is slowly leaking out before it is fully released on Thursday. So far, we know about the opening night triple-header, which includes the New York Knicks getting their championship rings in front of LeBron James in his Philadelphia 76ers debut, and also another San Antonio Spurs vs. Oklahoma City Thunder showdown. For as good as opening night is, the Christmas schedule is even better.

So many of the league’s biggest stars will be on display on Christmas day, from Victor Wembanyama to LeBron James to Giannis Antetokounmpo to Luka Doncic to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to Anthony Edwards to Nikola Jokic to Stephen Curry. There’s five games on the Christmas slate, and not even the biggest NBA diehard can watch them all. We’re here to help.

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Let’s rank every game on Christmas day from least-watchable to most-watchable. It’s never too early to start planning your holiday so you can fit in some basketball.

Curry and Jokic are always brilliant. So why is this game last? The late night start time is the first factor, because after a long day with family it might be hard to make it through this game for those on Eastern or Central time. There’s also the pesky fact that both of these franchises feel like they’re going in the wrong direction. I see the Warriors as a lottery team in our early power rankings, and they’re already talking about this season like a gap year. The Nuggets just got bounced in the first-round of the playoffs, and haven’t done anything to improve the team over the summer. I might look like a fool for this ranking when Curry and Jokic pop off, but for now I’m putting this as the skippable Christmas game.

The Boston Celtics almost traded for Giannis this summer. The Miami Heat actually did. This is another chapter in the defining rivalry of the Eastern Conference in the 2020s with both franchises still in the early stages of retooling after some big offseason moves. The best thing about Heat-Celtics is that each team has an entrenched identity. Joe Mazzulla’s Celtics are the ultimate math-ball team, and will be bombing away from three. Erik Spoelstra’s Miami squad is…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/nba-christmas-games-2026-ranked-144422978.html

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Publish date : 2026-08-11 14:44:00

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