One of the biggest days in the calendar of NBA fans is Christmas Day, with five big time games featuring some of the biggest stars taking place. This annual tradition has been a staple of the NBA.
In 2022, as with every year since 2008, five Christmas Day matches are taking place, with the games staggered over the course of the day to make sure you can drag yourself away from Christmas dinner to see at least one (or all five if you're dedicated).
However, unlike with the vast majority of NBA games, you can't use League Pass to watch the two games — don't boot up the app, as you'll be disappointed to find no games.
That's why we've written this guide on how to watch the NBA Christmas Games, to make sure you can catch every dunk, foul and three-pointer. Plus, we've included some information about all the games below.
Really keen to watch all the Christmas Day sports? Check out what NFL games are being played on CBS, Fox and Sunday Night Football.
Watch the NBA Christmas games in the US
While your default for NBA streaming might be the NBA League Pass, the five Christmas Day games aren't actually airing on the basketball league's streaming app.
Instead, all five games are airing on both ESPN and ABC, so if your cable package includes either of these channels, you'll be fine.
If not, you can use live TV streaming services like FuboTV, YouTube TV and Hulu with Live TV, all of which carry both of those major channels. Sling TV offers ESPN on its Orange plan, but it doesn't have ABC.
Here's the schedule in the US:
- Philadelphia 76ers vs New York Knicks, noon ET/9 am PT
- LA Lakers vs Dallas Mavericks, 2:30 pm ET/11:30 am PT
- Milwaukee Bucks vs Boston Celtics, 5 pm ET/2 pm PT
- Memphis Grizzlies vs Golden State Warriors, 8 pm ET/5 pm PT
- Phoenix Suns vs Denver Nuggets, 10:30 pm ET/7:30 pm PT
The Philadelphia 76ers vs New York Knicks game is also streaming on ESPN Plus. No other Christmas Day game is going to be available on the streaming service though.
Watch the NBA Christmas games in the UK
In the UK, as in the US, the NBA League Pass is not showing the Christmas Day games. There's one key way to watch the games, and that's using Sky Sports Mix.
As our Sky TV guide explains, Sky Sports costs £44 (or £18 extra if you already have Sky), and Sky Sports Mix is one of the channels included.
Here's the schedule in the UK — note that, due to time differences, some of the Christmas Day games actually fall into Boxing Day:
- Philadelphia 76ers vs New York Knicks, 5 pm
- LA Lakers vs Dallas Mavericks, 7:30 pm
- Milwaukee Bucks vs Boston Celtics, 10 pm
- Memphis Grizzlies vs Golden State Warriors, 1 am, December 26
- Phoenix Suns vs Denver Nuggets, 3:30 am, December 26
Watch the NBA Christmas games everywhere else
If you're going to be away from home but still want to watch the NBA Christmas games, you might run into some problems. Thankfully, you can solve this exact issue with a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
A VPN lets you change your IP address, meaning you can watch TV shows and events from different regions, so even if you're going to be away from where you would normally watch, you can still access those broadcasts. Our favorite is ExpressVPN, which is the No. 1-rated VPN in the world right now according to our sister site, TechRadar.
What are the five NBA Christmas games?
Philadelphia 76ers vs New York Knicks
The 76ers and Knicks meet at Madison Square Garden, kicking off the Christmas Day games.
This games is a reiteration of the most frequent Christmas Day match-up, as these two teams have played 12 times previously on December 25. Of these festive fracases, the 76ers have won seven of the games, while the Knicks have only won five.
In the Eastern Conference, Philadelphia is currently fifth place while the Knicks are sixth.
Los Angeles Lakers vs Dallas Mavericks
The Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks are set to play at the latters' American Airlines Center.
The Mavericks won the previous two times the teams met this season and with the Lakers' Anthony Davis sitting out with a foot injury, it's looking like the Dallas team could complete a hat-trick on Christmas Day.
Dallas is currently in 10th place in the Western Conference while the Lakers are 12th.
Milwaukee Bucks vs Boston Celtics
Game three features the Milwaukee Bucks vs Boston Celtics from the TD Garden in Boston.
The Bucks are currently leaders of the Eastern Conference, but only by a hair, with the Celtics very close behind. The winner takes the top spot in the conference as a Christmas present.
This is a rematch of the teams' 2022 NBA Playoffs series, which saw the Celtics win.
Memphis Grizzlies vs Golden State Warriors
The primetime Christmas Day NBA games is the Memphis Grizzlies and the defending champion Golden State Warriors. However, the Warriors are banged up (Steph Curry is out) and struggling, currently sitting out of a playoff spot.
On the other side, the Grizzlies, who have never played on Christmas Day before, are tied for the lead in the West.
Phoenix Suns vs Denver Nuggets
Rounding out the day of basketball is the Phoenix Suns vs Denver Nuggets, taking place in Denver at the Ball Arena.
The Nuggets are currently in first place of the Western Conference, but it's a tight race with the Suns just a game behind in the standings (they actually have the same number of wins as the Nuggets, 19). With Chris Paul, Devin Booker and Nikola Jokic on the court, this should be a good one.
What you need to know about the NBA Christmas games
When do the NBA Christmas games take place?
The first NBA Christmas game takes place at 12 pm ET/9 am PT/5 pm GMT, and the next ones start every two and a half or three hours until 10:30 pm ET/7:30 pm PT/3:30 am GMT on the 26th.
The timings are the same as for the last few years of the NBA's Christmas Day games.
Where do the NBA Christmas games take place?
Philadelphia 76ers vs New York Knicks takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Milwaukee Bucks vs Boston Celtics takes place at the TD Garden in Boston.
Los Angeles Lakers vs Dallas Mavericks is at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
Denver Nuggets vs Phoenix Suns are playing at Ball Arena in Denver.
The Golden State Warriors host the Memphis Grizzlies at the Chase Center in San Francisco.
