NBA Christmas Day games began in 1947, with the New York Knicks defeating the Providence Steamrollers 89-75, which the league reconizes as its first inaugural holiday matchup at Madison Square Garden (the league was known as the Basketball Association of America until 1949)[1].

The NBA’s strong viewership numbers in 2025-26 are continuing as the year comes to an end. More than 87 million people in the U.S. have watched NBA games this season across NBC/Peacock, ESPN, Amazon Prime Video and NBA TV, the most viewers in 15 years and up 89% vs. last year, the league announced Monday.

Richard Jefferson told SBJ that while “The Richard Show” clips have been edited down to around 10 minutes, subjects typically sit for 30 or 35 minutes, so there is the ability to add length for a longer TV-type program.

Lakers vs. Clippers game broadcasts on NBA, and it also livestreams on Sling Orange. Keep reading for more details on how cord-cutters can watch the LA showdown game online with Sling TV. A subscription to Sling Orange, which comes with NBA TV as an add-on, gets you access to live games, out-of-market games, and other NBA content.

ESPN and ABC will be back next week with a massive five-game slate for the annual NBA Christmas Day celebration, headlined by a Western Conference bout between the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers.

The Oklahoma City Thunder travel on the road to face the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday. It's the second matchup of the season between the squads. Last time, OKC was on the wrong side of an upset loss in the 2025 NBA Cup semifinals on Dec.