Every NBA fan is aware of the monumental significance of Christmas Day on the league calendar. On December 25 of every year, star players are featured in big time matchups held between prominent teams. It is a day where a lot of eyeballs become focused on the association, and there is no doubt teams like the Minnesota Timberwolves are looking forward to this year's matchups.
That is primarily because the Wolves are primed to be featured in just their third ever Christmas Day game. After winning 56 games and standing as the top team in the Western Conference standings for the majority of the season, Minnesota advanced to the Western Conference Finals for just the second time in the history of the franchise.
Now, the Timberwolves are certainly looking ahead to the 2024 NBA schedule release with the thought that they could be among the 10 teams featured on the Christmas Day slate of games. Based on this past season's results and everything we know right now, this is what the December 25 lineup could end up looking like for the 2024-25 season.
Predicting the 2024 NBA Christmas Day schedule:
- Indiana Pacers at New York Knicks - 11:00 AM CT
- Philadelphia 76ers at Boston Celtics - 1:30 PM CT
- Milwaukee Bucks at Minnesota Timberwolves - 4:00 PM CT
- Los Angeles Lakers at Oklahoma City Thunder - 7:00 PM CT
- Denver Nuggets at Dallas Mavericks - 9:30 PM CT
Last season, the way the league opted to lay out the Christmas Day slate was with five East teams and five West teams. The day included two Eastern Conference matchups and two Western Conference matchups, with one inter-conference game included as well.
Should they opt to go in a similar direction next season, this feels like a very reasonable prediction for the matchups they might choose. The Knicks typically always get the first game of the day, especially when New York has a legitimate team. Given their offseason, they are a shoo-in to open up the day, and what better opponent than the squad they took to seven games in the East semifinals?
Philadelphia is a given to play on Christmas as well after acquiring Paul George, and matching them up with possibly their biggest in-conference rival as well as the defending NBA champions would be a solid play. Then comes potentially the most exciting matchup of the day.
Timberwolves-Bucks would make an excellent Christmas matchup
One of the best opponents for Minnesota on Christmas would be the Bucks. Both teams are incredibly big, and the frontcourt of the Timberwolves going up against Giannis Antetokounmpo would be must-see TV. Minnesota did enough in both the regular season and playoffs this past season to earn home court in such a massive game.
From there, the league will always include the Lakers on Christmas, no matter how bad they are. If you want proof, just look at the 2013-14 year where they won 27 games and Kobe Bryant missed all but six games in the season, while still being picked for a game on December 25.
League schedulers will probably want to give Los Angeles a good matchup to make them look better as well, so they'll pit them against the Thunder. After that, Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic will highlight the closing matchup. The NBA undoubtedly will want to feature Stephen Curry on Christmas as well, but the Warriors have fallen so far that it will be hard to justify.