Celtics land rivalry battle in NBA schedule for Christmas 2024

The Boston Celtics will headline the NBA for the eighth consecutive year on Christmas Day 2024, securing the reigning champions a rival game in the Eastern Conference next season.

Boston will host the Philadelphia 76ers at TD Garden, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. The other four matchups scheduled for Christmas Day are San Antonio Spurs-New York Knicks, Minnesota Timberwolves-Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers-Golden State Warriors and Denver Nuggets-Pheonix Suns.

Last season, the Celtics defeated LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on Christmas Day, and this time, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown will get a chance to spoil Philadelphia's holiday spirit. The 76ers have been busy in the offseason, most notably signing nine-time All-Star Paul George as a free agent to a four-year, $211 million contract and extending guard Tyrese Maxey to a five-year, $204 million contract. Only time will (soon) tell how much those investments will help franchise star Joel Embiid – who has never reached the Conference Finals – in the 2024-25 season.

However, the offseason has boosted the confidence of Philadelphia's management after they were eliminated in the first round of last season's playoffs. Darryl Morrey, the Sixers' president of basketball operations, made bold comments about where Philadelphia stands compared to Boston's defending champion team.

“We are talking to a very small number of teams – top three, top four, top two in the league, somewhere in between.” Morey told 97.5 The Fanatic in July. “Of course you have to give the Celtics credit. They won the title. They are an outstanding team. They brought everyone back. They are the target, but we don't feel like we are giving them anything and we are coming to take the title away from them.”

The last time Boston and Philadelphia met was on Christmas Day of the 2018-19 season. The Celtics won the duel in overtime 121-114.