Christmas Day NBA on Sky Sports: OG Anunoby, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander vs Victor Wembanyama, LeBron James, Steph Curry, Nikola Jokic and extra

The NBA’s Christmas Day recreation has been a practice since 1947 and continues to showcase among the league’s greatest groups and superstars.

Teams and gamers have an opportunity to make a reputation for themselves because the eyes of the world tune in to this yr’s 5 marquee matchups.

To assist preview the fixtures, we spoke to former NBA participant and champion with the Miami Heat, Jason Williams, to see what intrigues him in regards to the Christmas Day schedule….

Cleveland Cavaliers @ New York Knicks

5pm, Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports+

Christmas Day begins within the dwelling of many festive movies, New York City, the place the Knicks will welcome the Cleveland Cavaliers to Madison Square Garden. An iconic Christmas location will function two of the Eastern Conference’s strongest groups.

The Knicks are recent from not too long ago lifting the NBA Cup after a powerful win over the San Antonio Spurs. While Jalen Brunson is seen because the aspect’s central determine, London-born ahead OG Anunoby is quietly constructing a case for his first All-Star choice.

Anunoby was the main scorer within the Cup remaining and in response to Williams, is doing all the correct issues to earn his place at All-Star Weekend. When requested what extra Anunoby must do, Williams’ recommendation was easy: “Keep winning and mounting those wins, and that’ll take care of the All-Star selection when it needs to be taken care of.”

The Cavs, in the meantime, had been the perfect regular-season group within the Eastern Conference final season, ending with a 61-21 file, however have since struggled to recapture that type.

Donovan Mitchell, who nonetheless exudes famous person confidence, has been upfront about his group’s below-par performances.

The Knicks have performed in additional Christmas Day video games than another NBA group and this yr, a festive victory over the Cavs, mixed with their win within the NBA Cup remaining, may present them with the right platform for a run at their first championship since 1973.

San Antonio Spurs @ Oklahoma City Thunder

7.30pm, Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports+

The second recreation of the day offers our first famous person conflict. Last yr’s MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, takes on the lofty problem of the 21-year-old, 7ft 5in centre, Victor Wembanyama, because the Thunder welcome the Spurs to Oklahoma City.

When requested what has excited Williams about this season up to now, he stated: “I’m really excited about the parity. Other than OKC, who seem to be a level above everybody else”.

Last yr’s NBA champions, the Thunder, have picked up the place they left off and on the time of writing, have simply two losses, together with the perfect file within the league.

Two groups touted with next-generation superstars, Williams was unequivocal in his reward of Gilgeous-Alexander and Wembanyama.

“Both of them are special and unique,” he stated. “To be honest with you, I didn’t think Wemby was going to be as good as he is. I thought it would take him a couple of years, and he would come along a little bit slower than he has, but man, was I wrong!”

On Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams added: “Shai is just…I mean, it’s just loss for words. Just as soon as you think that he’s as good as he can be, he takes it a step higher and raises his team to another level.”

The stakes had been raised even greater on this recreation after the Spurs eradicated OKC from the NBA Cup earlier this month. A gathering of arguably the 2 finest groups and the 2 finest particular person gamers within the league, Spurs vs Thunder is a assured Christmas cracker.

Dallas Mavericks @ Golden State Warriors

10pm, Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports+

Steph Curry’s fashion of play has captured the creativeness of a technology of basketball followers throughout the globe. Approaching his thirty eighth birthday in March, Curry’s evergreen skills will probably be pitted towards the skills of a participant virtually 20 years his junior, 18-year-old Cooper Flagg, who was this yr’s No 1 draft choose.

In late November, Flagg’s 42-point haul towards the Utah Jazz broke the NBA file for many factors by an 18-year-old. With accidents to a number of necessary team-mates, continuous enhancements on the courtroom all through Flagg’s rookie season have seen him grow to be an offensive fulcrum for the Mavericks.

Another fascinating facet to this recreation is Curry’s reunion with former team-mate, Klay Thompson. The “Splash Brothers” received 4 championships collectively over 12 years, setting quite a few scoring data alongside the way in which.

Two of the best three-point shooters to play the sport, their identities as gamers are so intertwined that it nonetheless appears unusual to see them on opposing groups, virtually two years since Klay’s departure from the Warriors.

Curry attracts excessive reward from Williams, who additionally performed level guard throughout his 12-year NBA profession: “The means he can shoot the basketball, I believe he may most likely play until he was 60 if he needed to. He may stand within the nook all day and defensively, if his man left him, it is going to be a knock-down 3-pointer.

“If he chose to play that long, he could. I think he’s probably the best point guard to ever play the game, definitely the best shooter that I’ve ever seen.

“I believe we’re fairly fortunate to see, as sports activities followers, not to mention NBA followers, to see a few of these athletes that we get to see. And Steph Wardell Curry is unquestionably certainly one of them.”

Houston Rockets @ LA Lakers

1am Friday December 26, Sky Sports+

One of the glitziest games of the Christmas Day schedule sees LeBron James’ Lakers face off against a rejuvenated Rockets side, led by Kevin Durant. Now 40 and 37 respectively, the game is set to be a highly competitive meeting between teams led by two of the league’s veteran superstars.

Like Steph Curry, Durant’s elite shooting touch has helped extend his prime well into his 30s, with a playing style focused on technical ability over athleticism. That isn’t to say KD doesn’t possess an outstanding all-round game. Earlier this month he became the third fastest player to 30,000 points, 5,000 rebounds and 5,000 assists, second only to Michael Jordan and LeBron.

Williams had huge praise for KD, but also highlighted the Rockets’ talented Turkish centre, Alperen Şengün, as one to watch.

“I’m an enormous KD fan. You may take him and drop him on any roster within the NBA, and I believe they immediately turn out to be a playoff contender. But I do not assume Şengün is getting talked about as a lot as he ought to. He’s quietly going about his enterprise and doing what he is imagined to do. e’s a big-time participant.”

At the opposite finish of the courtroom, the Lakers are hoping Luka Dončić recovers from damage in time to group up with LeBron, who is ready to take part in a record-breaking twentieth Christmas Day recreation, an all-time NBA file. LeBron will flip 41 earlier than the tip of December and when requested what targets he may need left, Williams replied: “What else is left for him to do? He’s already done everything else, so I think just winning championships is all that it’s about now.”

While LeBron’s retirement as soon as appeared a distant chance, it’s rapidly turning into an impending actuality. Williams is filled with reward for James and believes he would not all the time obtain the reward he deserves.

“I think we, as fans, we take LeBron James’ career for granted. We just expect him to have 25 points, 15 rebounds, and eight assists every night. I think he should have won a couple more MVPs, in my opinion, but they just didn’t give it to him because it was someone else’s turn. Now, that doesn’t mean the next guy doesn’t deserve the MVP, but I just we take LeBron James for granted.”

Minnesota Timberwolves @ Denver Nuggets

3.30am Friday December 26, Sky Sports+

In the ultimate recreation of the NBA’s Christmas Day schedule, those that keep up into the early hours of Boxing Day morning will see a showdown between one of many league’s rising rivalries, because the Denver Nuggets play the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Like the Gilgeous-Alexander v Wembanyama matchup earlier within the day, this recreation options two of the NBA’s greatest present skills in Nikola Jokić and Anthony Edwards. Williams stated: “Jokić is one of the best, if not the best, player in the NBA and Edwards is right on his heels. He’s trying to take that throne from him.”

For the Nuggets, Jokić is a three-time MVP winner whose on-ball skills have seen him labelled the perfect passing centre of all-time. In a sport that usually prioritises physicality, Jokić stands aside, his fashion outlined by elite basketball IQ and courtroom imaginative and prescient.

Earlier in December, “Joker” broke the file for many assists by a centre in NBA historical past, eclipsing a 35-year file set by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Even extra impressively, he achieved the feat in a staggering 789 fewer video games, a testomony to his distinctive skills.

In distinction to Jokić, Edwards’ fashion is based on a tenacious method to the sport, underlined by high-flying, explosive athleticism.

Equally decided off the courtroom, regardless of preliminary draft considerations over his vary, Edwards has developed into an elite long-range shooter, main the NBA for three-pointers made in the course of the 24-25 season, whereas additionally turning into the youngest participant in NBA historical past to make 1,000 threes.

Contracted with the Timberwolves till 2029, how Edwards develops will outline the way forward for the franchise.

With each groups having eradicated one another within the 2023 and 2024 postseason, the Nuggets-Timberwolves rivalry stays one of many NBA’s most hotly-anticipated fixtures.

A blockbuster Christmas Day schedule concludes with one of many highlights of the night.