The 2025-26 NBA season will commence on Oct. 21, beginning with the Houston Rockets traveling to Oklahoma City to face the Thunder. ESPN’s Shams Charania was first to report.
Yes, folks, that means Kevin Durant’s Rockets debut will be in Oklahoma City watching the championship banner go up. Kudos to the NBA schedulers on that one.
In the second game of the night, the Golden State Warriors will travel to Los Angeles and face the Lakers.
Stephen Curry going up against LeBron James has been a pillar of Christmas Day games over the past decade but the NBA has switched it up this time around.
It will be Durant and the Rockets squaring off against James, Luka Doncic and the Lakers on Christmas day.
Curry will be part of the action on Dec. 25 as the Warriors take on Cooper Flagg, Anthony Davis and the Dallas Mavericks.
Making its return to the NBA circuit, NBC will host the opening night of this upcoming NBA season.
NBA Season Serving Up Treats On Christmas
As is tradition, New York will host the opening game on Christmas Day as the Knicks take on the Cleveland Cavaliers. Both figure to be the top-two teams in the East. One can’t help but feel, though, it may have been the Indiana Pacers instead of the Cavs if not for the Tyrese Haliburton injury.
The Pacers and Knicks have renewed their rivalry over the last couple years and this year’s Eastern Conference Finals battle was particularly enticing. It is extremely rare that a team wins the East and reaches the NBA Finals but doesn’t feature on either of these nights. Indiana may feel aggrieved but it’s the reality of how much has changed.
Boston, after all its success the last few seasons, has clearly fallen off and won’t be involved either.
Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs will also feature on Christmas, taking on the champion Thunder. Many considered Oklahoma City to have been a Christmas Day snub this past season after earning the West’s top seed in 2023-24 as well.
Rounding out the night after Lakers-Rockets and Warriors-Mavs will be the Minnesota Timberwolves facing the Nuggets in Denver.
This has also become one of the better rivalries of the new era, with the Wolves and Nuggets serving up some tremendous games last season on the back of a thrilling seven-game battle in the 2024 postseason.
All the Christmas games will air on ABC and ESPN.