ESPN's NBA insider Shams Charania announced the NBA's Christmas Day schedule for the 2025-26 season, one of the most highly anticipated days of the regular season. They always give fans marquee matchups throughout the day, and the Dallas Mavericks will be featured for the sixth straight year.
They'll be on the road this year, facing off against the Golden State Warriors, per Charania. The other matchups include the Cleveland Cavaliers against the New York Knicks, the San Antonio Spurs against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Houston Rockets against the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Minnesota Timberwolves against the Denver Nuggets.
🚨🎄 NBA Christmas Day 2025 on ABC and ESPN, per sources:
- Cleveland Cavaliers at New York Knicks
- San Antonio Spurs at Oklahoma City Thunder
- Houston Rockets at LA Lakers
- Dallas Mavericks at Golden State Warriors
- Minnesota Timberwolves at Denver Nuggets— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 8, 2025
There are a few storylines to look forward to in this matchup. Obviously, any time Klay Thompson returns to the Bay Area, it's worth keeping an eye on. In his four games against his former team last season, Thompson averaged 19.8 PPG and nailed 21 three-pointers, nearly twice as many as he made against any other team. He'll be facing off against his former Splash Brother, Stephen Curry, as well as Draymond Green.
Dallas and Golden State did land a win over the new-look Warriors after they traded for Jimmy Butler, 111-107, just before the All-Star break. However, the Mavericks had Kyrie Irving for that game, and his status will be questionable, at best, for that game as he recovers from ACL surgery.
It will also give first overall pick Cooper Flagg a taste of the limelight in his rookie season. The Warriors are expected to be a good team, and the Mavericks may want to feed Klay Thompson against his former team, but a lot of attention will be paid to Flagg in his first Christmas Day Game.
The Mavericks are 4-4 in Christmas Day games all-time, losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves last year in what turned out to be Luka Doncic's last game with the franchise. He went down with a calf strain in that game and was traded a little over a month later.
Dallas also signed. D'Angelo Russell this offseason, who had a brief stint with the Warriors in the 2019-20 season.
Other Mavericks Christmas Matchups That Should've Been Considered
It's a little surprising that the NBA didn't give fans a Luka Doncic-Mavericks matchup on either Christmas or on opening day, as it appears the Lakers will play the Warriors to start the season. Unless there's another matchup announced, the first meeting between the new-look Doncic and the Mavericks wouldn't come until NBA Cup action starts.
A matchup against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs also would've been intriguing. The Spurs and Mavericks should have another thrilling rivalry for the next decade, at least, and they have the top two picks of the 2025 NBA Draft: Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper.
