Starting 5, Dec. 25: 5 must-see NBA on Christmas Day games tip at ...

Santa’s gift to NBA fans? 13 straight hours of hoops with five must-see games featuring some of the league’s brightest stars, on ABC & ESPN.

How many? We’ve got the winners of 12 of the last 16 Kia MVPs in action, plus eight former Kia Rookie of the Year winners.

Speaking of big stars, Mickey Mouse & Friends will help get things started at 12 ET with Dunk The Halls – the first-ever live animated presentation of an NBA game, on ESPN2, Disney+ & ESPN+.

5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION ???? Dec. 25, 2024

Spurs at Knicks: Wemby’s #NBAXmas debut with both teams off to their best start in years

Wolves at Mavs: A West Finals rematch with five of the last six meetings decided by single digits

Sixers at Celtics: Can Philly continue its turnaround against the defending champs?

Lakers at Warriors: The 3rd #NBAXmas game between the teams, 4th between Bron & Steph

Nuggets at Suns: The 2nd game in three days between these teams is also a 2022 #NBAXmas rematch

BUT FIRST … ⏰ Merry #NBAXmas…

The 77th NBA on Christmas Day tips off at Noon ET and continues all day with back-to-back games from coast to coast.

All five games will be available on ABC, ESPN, ESPN+ and Disney+, with Dunk The Halls available on ESPN2, Disney+ and ESPN+.

3-for-1 Day: Your votes count 3x today in NBA All-Star Voting presented AT&T — tap here to make your voice heard.

NBA Play on Christmas Day: Get up for today with Christmas-themed interactive games in NBA Play, as we celebrate its 1-year anniversary.

NBA OGs, Today on ABC: A conversation with Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Steph Curry, who collectively have seven NBA MVPs, seven NBA Finals MVPs, 10 NBA titles and 44 All-Star appearances. Here’s a preview before the full interview drops later today:

“They’re nice dudes, but they’re killers too” – Durant on the competition between he, LeBron and Steph over the years “KD’s pull-up hesi-left” – LeBron on what he would take from KD’s game, while Steph laughs and nods in agreement

“This is my happy place” – Steph on his love for the game, sitting alongside fellow lifelong hoopers

1. SPURS AT KNICKS TIPS OFF #NBAXMAS

The New York Knicks have been an NBA on Christmas Day fixture since the league’s first-ever Christmas game back in 1947.

New York has played a league-high 56 games on Christmas, facing 17 different franchises in that time.

One team they have yet to face on the holiday? The San Antonio Spurs.

New York will host reigning Kia Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs to open #NBAXmas 2024 (12 ET, ABC, ESPN, Disney+ and ESPN+, with the Dunk The Halls broadcast on ESPN2, Disney+ and ESPN+).

Franchise-Best Offense: Powered by the league’s top-scoring starting 5, New York is on pace to rewrite its record books — with its top marks ever in points, assists, field goal percentage, 3-point percentage and point differential.

Double Trouble: With Karl-Anthony Towns (24.7 ppg, 13.9 rpg, 45.6% 3P) and Jalen Brunson (24.6 ppg, 7.6 apg), the Knicks join the Bucks as the only teams with two top 15 scorers Homecoming KAT: Towns, who grew up in New Jersey, is having a career year in his first season in New York. He ranks 14th in scoring, 1st in rebounding, 2nd in double-doubles and 9th in 3-point shooting Brunson’s Encore: Jalen is set to play in his fifth Christmas Day game and third as a Knick. His 38-point performance last year was the most by a Knick on Christmas Day since Bernard King scored a Christmas-record 60 points in 1984

Looking to slow down NY’s high-octane offense is the human block party known as Wemby, who will make his Christmas Day debut today in the World’s Most Famous Arena.

Wemby’s Hot Streak: Over his past five games, Wemby is averaging 29.2 points, 8.2 boards, 6.2 blocks while shooting 46.9% overall and 40.8% from 3 Elite Company: The only other players to average 29/8/6 over a five-game span since 1973-74: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (6x), David Robinson (6x), Hakeem Olajuwon (4x) and Patrick Ewing (2x) Historic Pace: Wemby’s on track to be the 10th player in NBA history – and the first since Dikembe Mutombo in 1995-96 – to average 4+ blocks per game Repeat ROY? Teammate Stephon Castle leads the Kia Rookie Ladder, ranking second in both points (11.6) and assists (3.8) among rooks Don’t Forget The Vet: Chris Paul, who will play in his 10th Christmas game, dished out 16 dimes – two shy of the single-game Christmas record – when he last played on the holiday in 2022

Best Starts Since: Both the Knicks (19-10) and Spurs (15-14) reach Christmas Day with their most wins in years at this point of the season.

Knicks: The last time the Knicks had 19 wins through their first 29 games was in 2012-13 when they opened the season 21-8 and finished with 54 wins Spurs: San Antonio has its best record through 29 games since 2020-21 when they opened the season 17-12, but finished 33-39. Can this year’s start help the Spurs end a five-year Playoff drought?

2. TIMBERWOLVES VISIT MAVS IN PLAYOFF REMATCH

After meeting in last year’s West Finals, the Mavs and Timberwolves renew their rivalry on a new stage – with the two teams meeting on Christmas Day for the first time (2:30 ET, ABC, ESPN, Disney+, ESPN+).

This matchup features three of the game’s premier perimeter talents:

Anthony Edwards: Minnesota’s fifth-year guard is one of the most explosive athletes in the NBA, ready to create a poster dunk highlight in a second’s notice Luka Dončić: There’s a reason he’s earned the nickname Luka Magic; he’s a wizard with the ball in his hands, creating shots for himself and his teammates Kyrie Irving: Any conversation about the best ball handlers in NBA history must include Kyrie, whose handle and finishing around the hoop is second to none

Dallas’ Dynamic Duo: Luka and Kyrie reached the NBA Finals in their first full season as teammates and their combined 57.6 ppg over the past two seasons is the highest average by a duo over a two-season span (min. 80 games played) since 1976-77.

Last Christmas: Luka matched the third-highest scoring Christmas Day game when he dropped 50 points and 15 dimes in Dallas’ win over Phoenix. He joined James Harden as the only players with a 50/15 game on any day in NBA history Chasing & Honoring A Legend: Dallas’ Klay Thompson chose No. 31 with his new team to honor Hall of Famer Reggie Miller, with Klay knowing that he had a chance to pass one of his basketball idols on the all-time 3-pointers made list That Moment Has Arrived: The four-time NBA champion needs three 3-pointers to supplant Miller for fifth place

Something Has To Give: Dallas is an NBA-best 14-3 over the past six weeks and has led with an offense that ranks second in points (122.1 ppg) and third in both FG and 3P shooting during that stretch.

But just as hot as the Mavs are on offense, the Wolves defense has made a habit of cooling teams down, allowing a league-low 100.7 ppg in December.

Back To Form: After having the NBA’s top defense last season, the new-look Wolves got off to a slow start defensively (111.4 rating through November), but have bounced back in December (league-best 101.6 rating over nine games)

3. DEFENDING CHAMPS HOST SIXERS ON #NBAXMAS

Dating back 75 years, the Celtics-Sixers rivalry has featured a league-record 22 Playoff series, but only two Christmas Day meetings — with No. 3 on the way tonight (5 ET, ABC, ESPN, Disney+, ESPN+).

Both teams entered this season with high expectations – Boston looking to become the NBA’s first repeat champ in six years and Philly adding talent to its roster in the summer, headlined by the addition of nine-time All-Star Paul George to play alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.

While Boston has been near the top of the East all season – trailing only Cleveland – Philly got off to a rough start, but has started to find its way.

Philly’s Last 10 Games: The Sixers enter Christmas Day having gone 7-3 in their last 10 games in an effort to get their season back on track.

On Nov. 27, the Sixers lost to Houston in OT to drop to 3-14 on the season – their worst start to a season in a decade (0-17 in 2014-15) Since then, the Sixers have made strides on both ends of the court – increasing their offensive rating from 28th to 19th (111.4) and their defensive rating from 18th to 11th (109.3) Star Trio: With Embiid, Maxey and George all available, tonight will mark just the sixth time the three All-Stars have shared the court this year

Boston’s Last 10 Games: The Celtics enter Christmas Day having gone 6-4 in their last 10 games after opening their title defense 16-3, but maintain their hold on second in the East.

MVP Candidate: Tatum ranks fifth in the most recent Kia MVP Ladder and is the only player this season to lead their team in total points, rebounds and assists Sixth Man Candidate: Payton Pritchard leads the NBA in total points scored off the bench (455) and tied for third in 3-pointers made (108) among all players 3-Point Party: Boston is on pace to set NBA records for 3-pointers made (18.3 per game) and attempted (50.4). The Celtics lead the NBA in games with 20+ 3s – they are a perfect 10-0 in those games

4. RIVALRIES RENEW WHEN WARRIORS HOST LAKERS

Tonight in primetime, two rivalries resume when the Warriors host the Lakers (8 ET, ABC, ESPN, Disney+, ESPN+).

Lakers vs. Warriors: The first half of this decade has seen the Lakers (2020) and Warriors (2022) win NBA titles. And it has seen them face off in both the SoFi Play-In Tournament (2021) and the NBA Playoffs (2023) – with L.A. prevailing both times.

If The Season Ended Today: The Lakers (16-13, 7th in the West) and Warriors (15-13, 8th) would find themselves going head-to-head in the Play-In again Every Game Matters: With only 2.5 games separating No. 5 and No. 11 in the West, every win is crucial as teams battle for postseason position. Especially, head-to-head games that can determine tiebreakers Tonight is the first of four regular-season games between the Lakers and Warriors, with the first two played in SF (also Jan. 25) before the series ends with two games in L.A. (Feb. 6 and Apr. 3)

LeBron vs. Steph: In addition to the team matchup, tonight marks Chapter 53 in the storied rivalry between two of the game’s all-time greats – LeBron James and Steph Curry.

Stocking Full of Greatness: Between the regular season, Playoffs and Play-In, LeBron and Steph have faced off 52 times with Curry holding a 29-23 edge overall.

Regular Season: 12-11 in favor of Curry, who has won the last two meetings Playoffs: 17-11 in favor of Curry in games, 3-2 edge in series, 3-1 in the Finals Play-In: 1-0 in favor of James in the 2021 Tournament Christmas Day: 2-1 in favor of James, including the last two meetings (2018, 2016)

Last Season: LeBron and Steph showed out against one another during the season series.

LeBron In 3 Games vs. Golden State: James averaged a triple-double (36.3 ppg, 11.7 rpg, 10.7 apg) on 61.4% shooting and was highest-scoring player against the Warriors all season Steph in 4 Games vs. L.A.: Curry averaged 33 points, seven dimes and six 3s on 52.2% shooting overall and 48% from deep as he finished as the highest-scoring player against the Lakers all season

Top Of The Charts: No player has played in more Christmas Day games (18) or scored more Christmas Day points (476) than LeBron. A win would break a tie with Dwyane Wade for the most Christmas Day wins (10).

LeBron On Steph’s Turf: James (29) needs three 3s to become the all-time leader in Christmas 3s, while the NBA’s all-time leader in 3s made, Curry (18), ranks seventh on the holiday list

5. NUGGETS VISIT SUNS TO WRAP UP #NBAXMAS

Remember those 2.5 games that separate No. 5 from No. 11 in the West? Those two teams are No. 5 Denver and No. 11 Phoenix, who meet tonight in Phoenix (10:30 ET, ABC, ESPN, Disney+, ESPN+) for the second time in three days.

The Nuggets won the first of four regular-season meetings this season on Saturday in Denver as they rolled to a 117-90 win. Can the Suns avenge that loss at home and even the season series?

Familiar Foes: Since the start of the 2020-21 season, the Nuggets and Suns have met 14 times in the regular season (split 7-7), 10 times in the Playoffs (6-4 Suns edge in games, 1-1 split in two series) and once on Christmas Day in 2022.

Flashback: Nikola Jokić had a game for the ages (41 pts, 15 reb, 15 ast) to lead the Nuggets to a 128-125 overtime win, sending the Denver crowd home with a holiday treat Rare Feat: Jokic joined James Harden (53 pts, 16 reb, 17 ast in 2016) and Oscar Robertson (42 pts, 15 reb, 18 ast in 1962) as the only players to ever record a 40/15/15 game The Rematch: Tonight, the Nuggets and Suns meet again on Christmas, this time in Phoenix as the Suns try to end a three-game slide and the Nuggets seek their first Christmas road win in five tries

A Historic Chase: Jokic enters Christmas ranked in the top four in points (30.9 ppg, 2nd), rebounds (12.5, 4th) and assists (9.7 apg, tied for 2nd) as he goes for a fourth Kia MVP in the last five years – a feat only accomplished by LeBron and Bill Russell.

Elite Efficiency: As Jokic enters his 700th career game tonight, he ranks sixth all-time in field goal percentage (56.8%) among players to have logged as many games

The KD Effect: So far this season, the Suns are 13-5 with Kevin Durant in the lineup compared to 1-9 when he’s been out.

Christmas Buckets: KD enters tonight fourth on the all-time Christmas Day scoring list (315 pts), trailing only LeBron (476), Kobe (395) and Robertson (377)