The NBA’s best team on Christmas Day — the Miami Heat — will be returning for the 2026-27 season after a brief hiatus.
As the NBA trickles out the schedule release, they announced Tuesday that Miami will square off with Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics inside TD Garden at 2:30 p.m. EST, the second of the annual five-game slate.
The Christmas Day slate reads as follows:
- San Antonio Spurs @ New York Knicks (NBA Finals rematch)
- Miami Heat @ Boston Celtics
- Philadelphia 76ers @ Los Angeles Lakers (LeBron James returning to L.A.)
- Oklahoma City Thunder @ Minnesota Timberwolves
- Denver Nuggets @ Golden State Warriors
The Miami Heat, now led by two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, are 12-2 on Christmas Day, the best record in the NBA among all teams who played at least two X-Mas Day games. They are a perfect 9-0 under Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra.
The Heat’s last Christmas Day game was in 2023-24 against the Philadelphia 76ers, a 119-113 Heat win, spearheaded by Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s 31-point double-double and Bam Adebayo’s 26-point, 15-rebound effort.
This marks the first-ever Christmas Day game between the Heat and Celtics, who are 17-21 all-time on the storied holiday. Boston had a tumultuous summer after trading away Jaylen Brown for peanuts (sorry, Paul George), but they are still expected to compete in a pretty stacked middle of the East.
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I don’t really understand the importance of those Christmas games. I guess its some kind of tradition.
Its like NFL Football games on Thanksgiving Day and the Rose Bowl game on New Year’s Day. Strictly American traditions.
Ho ho ho
We back! I love it.
Opening Day with Ant and Mello coming to town is pretty cool, too.
Now about those open roster spots. 😛