Ranking of the five NBA games on Christmas Day 2024: Celtics vs. 76ers top the list, the big names are at the bottom

The 2024 Paris Olympics are coming to an end, and that means the portion of the NBA offseason where basketball is actually played will soon be over, and it will be more than two months before competition resumes. Thankfully, the NBA knows this and is starting to whet our appetites with information about the upcoming games.

On Thursday, The Athletic's Shams Charania reported on the league's fixtures for Christmas Day 2024. As always, five of the most anticipated games are scheduled for this league holiday. Here are the games in question:

This list includes last season's champion (the Celtics), three of last season's four finalists, and eight of the 10 teams with the best chance of winning the championship right now. The reigning MVP (Nikola Jokic), Defensive Player of the Year (Rudy Gobert), Player with Most Improved Performance (Tyrese Maxey), and Rookie of the Year (Victor Wembanyama) will all be in the game. So, with that in mind… which of these games are we most excited about? Let's rank them.

5. Los Angeles Lakers at Golden State Warriors

It says something about a team when the two best players of an era who have faced each other in the NBA Finals four times play their worst game. LeBron James versus Stephen Curry is always a treat, and there have been several incredible regular-season matchups over the past couple of years. But James and Curry both play for mediocre teams. This is the only game on the holiday schedule that pits two teams with no realistic championship shots against each other. The Lakers and Warriors are roughly the eighth- and ninth-best teams in the field here, with only the Spurs better. If this game had some sort of separate emotional resonance, like maybe Klay Thompson returning to the Bay Area in a Lakers jersey, it might have moved higher. But Thompson is a Maverick, and the Lakers and Warriors are play-in-caliber teams. When you factor in the possibility of injuries, with all of the best players in this game being in their 30s, it's simply impossible to justify a higher ranking.

4. San Antonio Spurs at New York Knicks

The last time Victor Wembanyama faced the Knicks, he posted an easy double-double with 40 points and 20 rebounds. The game was in San Antonio, but historically, nearly every NBA legend has delivered at least one standout regular-season performance at Madison Square Garden. LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kobe Bryant have all scored 50 or more points in games there. The chance Wembanyama turns in his first great MSG performance on Christmas is enough to make this game a major television event. Unfortunately, the rest of his roster is still relatively weak. The Knicks are a championship contender, but they're likely playing a lottery opponent, and that drops this game down a spot or two in the rankings. Wembanyama against the former Villanova team will be fun, but won't quite crack the top three.

3. Denver Nuggets at Phoenix Suns

The Nuggets and Suns have a history together. Nikola Jokic and Devin Booker faced each other twice in the playoffs. Neither series went beyond seven games, but both were marked by animosity. When the Nuggets and Suns played each other on Christmas 2022, it was a 128-125 overtime thriller in Denver's favor. Neither team is particularly well-equipped to defend the other. Phoenix will have to face Jokic with a subpar defense. The Nuggets just lost Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, which doesn't bode well for them defending a team with three star perimeter shooters. Expect a quick shootout in this game.

2. Minnesota Timberwolves at Dallas Mavericks

The Western Conference Finals may have only lasted five games, but four of them were close. The first two games were decided by a combined four points. Game 4 was decided by five points, and although the final margin in Game 3 was nine points, the game was tied with less than four minutes left. Minnesota's matchup woes against Dallas continue, but perhaps another year of experience (especially after an Olympic run) will give Anthony Edwards the boost he needs to hang with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving to the end in this matchup. The final few minutes were the only non-competitive parts of these Dallas-Minnesota games last year. If Edwards steps up, this game will be a blast.

1. Philadelphia 76ers at Boston Celtics

Come on, what did you expect? The defending champs versus the team that had the best offseason? Two northeastern cities with literally a century of bad sports? Joel Embiid versus the team that knocked him out of the playoffs three times? Any meeting of the three Atlantic Division heavyweights in New York, Boston and Philadelphia is a must-see. A Christmas game between perhaps the two best teams in the conference is one of the best games on the entire regular-season schedule. There's a very good chance these teams will face off in May. If you turn on any game on Christmas, it should be the possible preview of this postseason duel.