NBA Christmas Day Slate Revealed

A lot of people will tell you the NBA season starts on Christmas Day. That’s not actually true, of course. It tips off in October.

But at least now we seem to know who will be playing when much of the world will be tuning in, a first revealed by Keith Smith of Spotrac and later followed by The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

The reported Christmas slate looks like this:

• 76ers at Knicks
• Bucks at Celtics
• Grizzlies at Warriors
• Lakers at Mavericks
• Suns at Nuggets

As Smith wrote, those could indeed be the actual order of the games as well.

So, yes, it appears Christmas will feature the usual dose of LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Steph Curry and Luka Doncic, as well as the defending Eastern Conference champion Celtics and rising Grizzlies.

Notable absences include the Nets (given we don’t know what will become of Kevin Durant and/or Kyrie Irving), Jimmy Butler and the Heat (who finished with the best record in the East), Trae Young and the Hawks, and perhaps the Cavaliers, who have a young, up-and-coming squad.

In case you missed it, it looks as if the Lakers ands defending champion Warriors will open the season against each other. (Full post.)