From LeBron-Kobe in 2010 to a pair of stellar efforts from Kyrie Irving, look back at the top Christmas moments through the years.
• Christmas Day: Complete coverage
The annual Christmas Day slate is about celebrating the game and highlighting the best players in the world, but you’d have a hard time putting together five games that are more important than the ones we’ll have on Thursday.
Three of the games match up each of the top six teams in the Western Conference. The Mavs-Warriors matchup could wind up being critical in the Emirates Play-In Tournament positioning, especially if Kyrie Irving returns this season. While the Cleveland Cavaliers are off to a disappointing start to the season, they could certainly re-establish themselves as a top-tier team in the East (and a rival of the New York Knicks) in the next few months.
Here are some numbers to know for the 10 teams playing on Christmas …
All stats are through Tuesday, Dec. 23.
1. Cleveland at New York, Noon ET
The Cleveland Cavaliers take on the New York Knicks on Christmas Day.
1. The Cavs have been 12.3 points per 100 possessions better in the second half of games (plus-8.7) than they’ve been in the first half (minus-3.6).
The Cavs have seen the league’s fourth-biggest drop in point differential per 100 possessions overall, but they’ve been the league’s second-best second-half team, better after halftime than they were last season (plus-5.8, fourth). They haven’t turned many games around at the half (they’re 5-13 when trailing at halftime), but only the Lakers (11-0) have a better record when leading at the half than the Cavs (12-1).
2. The Knicks have averaged 5.2 corner 3-pointers per game.
That would be the most for any team in the 47 years of the 3-point line, topping the Suns’ mark of 5.0 per game last season.
Most corner 3-pointers per game, NBA history
Team
Season
GP
CNR 3PM
Per game
New York
2025-26
29
150
5.2
Phoenix
2024-25
82
406
5.0
Utah
2020-21
72
343
4.8
LA Clippers
2020-21
72
342
4.8
Miami
2021-22
82
382
4.7
The Knicks have seen the league’s biggest jump in the percentage of their shots that have come from 3-point range, from 38.2% (28th) last season to 43.4% (ninth) this season. Mikal Bridges (33-for-67, 49.3%) and OG Anunoby (28-for-59, 47.5%) rank second and ninth, respectively, in corner 3s among individuals.
2. San Antonio at Oklahoma City, 2:30 p.m. ET
The San Antonio Spurs gear up to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder on Christmas Day.
1. The Spurs rank fifth in rebounding percentage (52%), up from 27th (48.5%) last season.
That’s been the league’s biggest jump. The Spurs have been the league’s most improved team overall (regarding both winning percentage and point differential), and a big part of that has been better rebounding on both ends of the floor. They’ve seen jumps in both Victor Wembanyama’s minutes on and off the floor, and Wembanyama ranks second in defensive rebounding percentage (28.4%) among the 364 players who’ve averaged at least 10 minutes per game.
2. Thunder opponents have taken just 44.2% of their shots in the paint and shot just 50.9% in the paint.
Those are both the league’s lowest opponent marks, with the 50.9% that their opponents have shot the lowest opponent mark in the last six seasons.
Lowest opponent FG% in the paint, 2025-26
Team
FGM
FGA
FG%
%FGA
Rank
Oklahoma City
584
1,147
50.9%
44.2%
1
Boston
594
1,115
53.3%
44.9%
3
Detroit
660
1,236
53.4%
47.9%
12
Minnesota
737
1,351
54.6%
50.4%
24
San Antonio
686
1,236
55.5%
47.6%
11
%FGA = Percentage of total field goal attempts
The Thunder have allowed 38.0 points in the paint per 100 possessions, 4.7 fewer than any other team. Three players have defended at least 75 shots at the rim and held their opponents below 50% on those shots, and two of the three are Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren. Wembanyama’s worst paint-shooting game of the season was his 3-for-7 performance against Oklahoma City in the Emirates NBA Cup semifinals.
3. Dallas at Golden State, 5 p.m. ET
Hear from the Dallas Mavericks and the Golden State Warriors as they get ready for their Christmas Day matchup.
1. Mavs opponents have taken just 36.8% of their shots from 3-point range.
That’s the league’s second-lowest opponent 3-point rate, just a tick higher than that of the Orlando Magic.
Lowest opponent 3-point rate (3PA/FGA)
Team
3PM
3PA
3P%
Rank
3PA/FGA
Orlando
346
969
35.7%
15
36.6%
Dallas
353
1,065
33.1%
1
36.8%
Portland
369
1,030
35.8%
36
38.1%
Charlotte
398
1,038
38.3%
29
38.2%
Minnesota
358
1,026
34.9%
8
38.2%
This would be just the second time in the last 14 seasons that the Mavs had a top-10 defense. Much of their success has been their ability to limit 3-pointers. They also lead the league in opponent 3-point percentage (33.1%). On Christmas, they’re facing the team – Golden State – with the league’s highest 3-point rate (49.7%) and its best point differential from beyond the arc (plus-11.6 points per game).
2. Stephen Curry leads the league in gravity score (19.9), which measures how much a player pulls defenders toward him.
At the age of 37, Curry remains the player that opposing defenses are most afraid of. He ranks fifth in on-ball perimeter gravity, but leads the league in off-ball perimeter gravity by a huge margin. The Warriors rank just 21st offensively, but as usual, they’ve been much more efficient with Curry on the floor (118 points scored per 100 possessions) than they’ve been with him off the floor (106.8).
4. Houston at Los Angeles Lakers, 8 p.m. ET
Take a look at the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers as they prepare for their Christmas Day matchup.
1. The Rockets have retained 40.6% of available offensive rebounds.
That would be the highest rate for any team in the 30 seasons for which we have play-by-play data, topping the mark of the 1997-98 New Jersey Nets (38.3%) by a healthy margin.
Highest offensive rebounding percentage, since 1996-97
Team
Season
OREB%
2CP/100
Houston
2025-26
40.6%
18.7
New Jersey
1997-98
38.3%
16.8
Chicago
1997-98
38.1%
17.6
New Jersey
1996-97
37.6%
18.2
Chicago
1996-97
37.4%
18.0
2CP/100 = Second chance points per 100 possessions
The Rockets led the league last season, and they’ve seen the fourth-biggest jump in offensive rebounding percentage. Steven Adams (20.2%) and Clint Capela (19.4%) rank second and third among 364 players who’ve averaged at least 10 minutes per game, and more than 15% of the Rockets’ offense comes after an offensive rebound.
2. The Lakers are 10-0 in games that were within five points in the last five minutes.
Only the Wizards have played fewer clutch games, but every other team has at least three clutch losses, while the Lakers remain undefeated in games that were close down the stretch. They have the league’s 24th-ranked defense overall, but the top-ranked defense in the clutch (93.6 points allowed per 100 possessions).
With their close-game success, the Lakers are 19-9 (in fourth place) with the point differential (plus-0.3 per game, eighth best in the West) of a team that’s 14-14. They’re also the only undefeated team when leading by double-digits (18-0) and the only undefeated team when leading at the half (11-0).
5. Minnesota at Denver, 10:30 p.m. ET
The Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets gear up for their Christmas Day game.
1. The Wolves are 12-5 when trailing at the half.
Only three other teams – Denver, Minnesota and Oklahoma City – have winning records when trailing at the half, and no other team has more than seven wins after trailing at the half. The Wolves have improved with each successive quarter, from a minus-0.7 points per 100 possessions deficit in the first to a plus-8.6 points in the fourth.
Wolves’ efficiency by quarter
Quarter
OffRtg
Rank
DefRtg
Rank
NetRtg
Rank
1st
115.2
16
115.9
18
-0.7
16
2nd
113.7
17
110.6
6
+3.1
12
3rd
121.2
6
113.8
11
+7.4
7
4th
116.0
12
107.3
2
+8.6
3
OffRtg = Points scored per 100 possessions
DefRtg = Points allowed per 100 possessions
NetRtg = Point differential per 100 possessions
The Wolves have, somehow, won eight of the last nine games that they trailed at halftime. Denver, of course, is the location of the Wolves’ most memorable comeback from a halftime deficit. They were down 15 at the half (and by 20 early in the third quarter) before coming back to win Game 7 of the 2023 Western Conference semifinals.
2. The Nuggets have scored 9.3 more points per 100 possessions than the league average.
That would be the biggest differential in the 30 seasons of play-by-play data, topping the mark of the 2003-04 Mavs (9.0 better than average). The offensive success starts with Nikola Jokić, who’s averaging 28.9 points and a league-high 10.9 assists, with what would be the highest true shooting percentage (70.9%) in NBA history for a player who averaged at least 20 points. Jamal Murray is also registering career-high marks for points per game (25.1) and true shooting percentage (63.6%).
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John Schuhmann has covered the NBA for more than 20 years. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Bluesky.
