Not only are 5 games played on the 25th: by choice, it is the day that has become the showcase of the most important basketball championship on the planet, in which the best that the league has to offer is shown to the world
In the NBA, Christmas is not a parenthesis in the calendar: it is a stage. It’s the day the regular season stops being everyday life and becomes a global event, the day the league showcases its best stars, most recognizable rivalries and a tradition that has lasted almost eighty years. December 25th does not decide who will win the ring, but it is the showcase in which those who do show off. In short, it is the most important day of the year. This year’s NBA Xmas seems like a perfect showcase of the current state of the league, in which the stars of yesterday, today and tomorrow perform, a generational meeting full of entertainment. Jalen Brunson and Donovan Mitchell, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Victor Wembanyama, Cooper Flagg and Steph Curry, Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun with LeBron James and Luka Doncic, Anthony Edwards and Nikola Jokic. There will be five matches, thirteen consecutive hours of live broadcast, audiences in 215 countries and over 50 different languages. It’s not a regular season day like the others: it’s “The” day, the one that matters more than the others. It has been so since 1947, from the first time of the NBA to Christmas in its second season of life. It is so much so that December 25th under the basket has become a more important rite thanopening nightmore competitive than the All Star Game. And the heart of the party, this year too the first stop of the marathon, is Madison Square Garden: the Knicks, the original franchise, will have played 58 games on December 25th this year, more than anyone else. NBA Christmas is tradition, but it is also recognition: if you play that day, it means that the league considers you relevant.
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There are editions that marked an era more than others. One above all: 2011. After lockoutthe regular season began on December 25th and players and owners raced to make it happen: it was a showcase too precious to lose, the most important way to let all the fans know that the NBA was truly back. And it was once again ready to put the spotlight on its most important champions, its iconic arenas such as Madison Square Garden where, as per tradition, a 5-game marathon began which had its highlight in the rematch of the Finals six months earlier between Dallas and Miami, an ideal message to remind the fans that it was starting again, carried forward by LeBron, Dirk Nowitzki, Derrick Rose, Kobe Bryant and all the other most beloved champions. Today the NBA Xmas is a media machine without equal in the regular season, with the marathon of five games all amplified by the megaphone of national TV. For years, the matches of December 25th have consistently occupied first place in the rankings of the most watched ones in the regular season: 2024 was no exception, with 5.25 million average viewers (best figure in the last 5 years) and a peak of 7.76 for Lakers-Warriors. In 2025, Disney (owner of ABC and ESPN which broadcast the 5 matches) has already announced the sold-out of all advertising spaces, with an increase in revenue of 18% compared to the past year. And with TV ratings increasing by 89% after the first two months of the season compared to the year before, the NBA Christmas promises to be record-breaking.
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The importance is not just television. The arenas are systematically sold-out and the live audience responds as if it were a playoff: playing at Christmas, coaches and players have said for decades, “is not a sacrifice, it’s an honor”. Doc Rivers defined it as an award, LeBron James has repeatedly described it as “a moment when you understand the weight you have in the league”. It is no coincidence that James holds the records for appearances (19), points (507) and victories (11) in Christmas games: it is the perfect photograph of the bond between superstar and stage. Christmas is also the day of consecrations. From Bernard King and his 60 points in 1984 to Luka Doncic, who scored 50 in 2023, up to Wembanyama, who immediately left his mark in his first appearance, to Gilgeous-Alexander who plans to enter the record books on his debut this year. In the NBA, Christmas doesn’t award trophies but builds phenomena, legitimizes careers, strengthens rivalries. It’s the day when the regular season stops being just a long marathon and becomes a collective story. For this reason, more than any other date on the calendar, December 25th is the true heart of the NBA season. Because while the world stops, the league chooses to show itself at its maximum power: history, stars and entertainment, all together, under the same tree.
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