The NBA has been a Christmas Day staple for many years, putting some of the most anticipated matchups on the special holiday. On Friday, ESPN’s Shams Charania revealed what this year’s NBA Christmas Day matchups will be.
Via Shams Charania: “🚨🎄NBA Christmas Day 2025 on ABC and ESPN, per sources:
– Cleveland Cavaliers at New York Knicks
– San Antonio Spurs at Oklahoma City Thunder
– Houston Rockets at LA Lakers
– Dallas Mavericks at Golden State Warriors
– Minnesota Timberwolves at Denver Nuggets”
🚨🎄 NBA Christmas Day 2025 on ABC and ESPN, per sources:
– Cleveland Cavaliers at New York Knicks
– San Antonio Spurs at Oklahoma City Thunder
– Houston Rockets at LA Lakers
– Dallas Mavericks at Golden State Warriors
– Minnesota Timberwolves at Denver Nuggets
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 8, 2025
To minimal surprise, some of the league’s biggest teams and players are highlighting their Christmas Day slate, like star matchups of Donovan Mitchell against Jalen Brunson, Victor Wembanyama against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Kevin Durant against LeBron James and Luka Doncic, Anthony Davis and Cooper Flagg against Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler, and Anthony Edwards against Nikola Jokic.
Of course, the biggest markets are playing on Christmas Day, with the Jayson Tatum-less Boston Celtics a clear exception. And, again to minimal surprise, the Sacramento Kings are left out of the fun for the 22nd consecutive year.
Not so fun fact: The Sacramento Kings have only played on Christmas Day twice in their history.
Most recently, they faced the Dallas Mavericks in 2003, a game of which they lost.
Hopefully one day we will get to see the Beam Team play some Christmas Day basketball again! pic.twitter.com/lFVKkRT9rY
— E Train Talks Sports (@ETrainSports) August 8, 2025
The Kings have not played on Christmas Day since 2003 when they were taken down by the Dirk Nowitzki-led Dallas Mavericks in Sacramento. The year prior, the Kings beat the Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas, but those were the only two instances the Sacramento Kings were featured on the NBA’s Christmas slate.
Christmas Day 2002! Kings beat Lakers 105-99 pic.twitter.com/3bCMrYkR9L
— Sacramento Kings 24/7 (@sackings_247) December 25, 2023
Sacramento’s 22-year Christmas Day drought is the second-longest in the NBA, trailing only the Charlotte Hornets, who have never played on the holiday.
Of course, there is no surprise or shock that the Kings are not scheduled to play on Christmas this year, but the long drought is certainly a disappointment. With how the Kings are structured, they will not be a marquee-enough team to play on Christmas for a long time, as there is no clear path for significant improvement.
Feb 21, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Zach LaVine (8) and forward Domantas Sabonis (11) look on during the fourth quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images / Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images
The Kings have made just one playoff appearance in the last 19 years, and with no superstar-caliber players on the roster, the Kings remain a bottom-tier NBA team until they convince everyone otherwise. As it stands, the 2023 “Beam Team” run was an anomaly.
Of the four NBA teams that have not played a Christmas Day game since at least 2010, the Kings, Hornets, Detroit Pistons, and Indiana Pacers, Sacramento and Charlotte are the only ones that are not trending in the right direction. There is a chance that new general manager Scott Perry can turn the Kings around and make them a marquee team, but he has some work to do.