NBA’s Christmas week, Dec. 21-27: a Hogwarts stein, SpongeBob Night, an Austin Reaves bobblehead and every giveaway

Oct. 25, 2026 — Christmas week is short on games and long on holiday nights: the league goes dark on Thursday, Dec. 24, plays five games on Christmas Day, and fills the days around it with 17 themed home dates, from a Hogwarts stein in New Orleans to an Austin Reaves bobblehead in Los Angeles. Here is every one, with local and Cairo tip times and a Game Center link for each game.

The week before is in our Dec. 14-20 guide, and every league date is in the 2026-27 key dates.

The nights worth planning around

Monday starts in Cleveland, where the Cavaliers hold Marvel Night against the Knicks and hand out a foam finger built on Donovan Mitchell’s “Spida” nickname. The same evening the Timberwolves host Phoenix on Pride Night, with a Pride baseball jersey sold only through a special ticket offer.

Wednesday, Dec. 23, is the last full slate before the break and the busiest promotional night of the week. The Hawks give a holiday beanie to every fan against Detroit, the Bucks hand out a custom holiday poster against Minnesota, and the Pelicans turn Smoothie King Center into Hogwarts for Harry Potter Night against Oklahoma City, with a Hogwarts x Pelicans stein for the first 6,000 fans. In Washington, the Wizards pair Fit Night with a mock neck sweatshirt package a night after their Canadian Heritage game against Toronto.

Sunday, Dec. 27, closes the week with six themed home dates. The Kings bring Bikini Bottom to Golden 1 Center for SpongeBob Night against Utah, with a cooler bag for the first 7,000 fans; the Rockets give PAW Patrol socks to the first 5,000 children 12 and under against the Thunder; and the Lakers hand out an Austin Reaves bobblehead against Memphis two days after hosting Philadelphia on Christmas. The Pistons combine In It for My City Night, built around Detroit performers and small businesses, with a WWE-themed giveaway against Portland.

Christmas Day, Friday, Dec. 25

All five games air on ABC and ESPN. Only the Warriors have announced a giveaway, a beanie for every fan at the late game against Denver; the Celtics list their afternoon game against Miami as a Christmas Day special event without an item.

• Spurs at Knicks: noon ET (Cairo 7:00 p.m.)
• Heat at Celtics: 2:30 p.m. ET (Cairo 9:30 p.m.)
• 76ers at Lakers: 2 p.m. PT (Cairo Sat 12:00 a.m.)
• Thunder at Timberwolves: 7 p.m. CT (Cairo Sat 3:00 a.m.)
• Nuggets at Warriors: 7:30 p.m. PT (Cairo Sat 5:30 a.m.)

Every themed night, Dec. 21 to 27

Tip times come from the league schedule. In December, Cairo is seven hours ahead of the East Coast, eight ahead of Central time and 10 ahead of the West Coast.

Date	Game	Tip (local)	Cairo time	Night / giveaway
Mon., Dec. 21	Knicks at Cavaliers	7 p.m. ET	Tue 2:00 a.m.	Marvel Night; “Spida” foam finger
Mon., Dec. 21	Suns at Timberwolves	7 p.m. CT	Tue 3:00 a.m.	Pride Night; Pride baseball jersey (ticket package)
Tue., Dec. 22	Raptors at Wizards	7 p.m. ET	Wed 2:00 a.m.	Canadian Heritage Night
Tue., Dec. 22	Mavericks at Warriors	7:30 p.m. PT	Wed 5:30 a.m.	Healthcare Heroes Night II (ticket package)
Wed., Dec. 23	Pistons at Hawks	7 p.m. ET	Thu 2:00 a.m.	Holiday game; beanie for every fan
Wed., Dec. 23	Cavaliers at Wizards	7 p.m. ET	Thu 2:00 a.m.	Fit Night; mock neck sweatshirt (ticket package)
Wed., Dec. 23	Timberwolves at Bucks	7 p.m. CT	Thu 3:00 a.m.	Holiday Game; custom holiday poster
Wed., Dec. 23	Thunder at Pelicans	7 p.m. CT	Thu 3:00 a.m.	Harry Potter Night; Hogwarts x Pelicans stein, first 6,000 fans
Fri., Dec. 25	Nuggets at Warriors	7:30 p.m. PT	Sat 5:30 a.m.	Christmas Day; Warriors beanie for every fan
Sat., Dec. 26	Pistons at Bulls	7 p.m. CT	Sun 3:00 a.m.	Statement Edition Night
Sat., Dec. 26	Suns at Mavericks	7 p.m. CT	Sun 3:00 a.m.	Space Jam Night (ticket package)
Sun., Dec. 27	Thunder at Rockets	2:30 p.m. CT	Sun 10:30 p.m.	PAW Patrol Day; socks for the first 5,000 kids 12 and under
Sun., Dec. 27	Wizards at Cavaliers	6 p.m. ET	Mon 1:00 a.m.	Kids Day
Sun., Dec. 27	Bucks at Magic	6 p.m. ET	Mon 1:00 a.m.	Jewish Heritage Night
Sun., Dec. 27	Jazz at Kings	3 p.m. PT	Mon 1:00 a.m.	SpongeBob Night; Kings x SpongeBob cooler bag, first 7,000 fans
Sun., Dec. 27	Trail Blazers at Pistons	7 p.m. ET	Mon 2:00 a.m.	In It for My City Night; WWE-themed item
Sun., Dec. 27	Grizzlies at Lakers	6 p.m. PT	Mon 4:00 a.m.	Austin Reaves bobblehead

How the giveaways and packages work

A giveaway with a number attached, like the Pelicans’ stein or the Kings’ cooler bag, goes out as fans enter until it runs out, so arriving when the doors open matters. Items marked as a ticket package, such as the Timberwolves’ Pride jersey, the Warriors’ Healthcare Heroes item, the Wizards’ sweatshirt and the Mavericks’ Space Jam night, come only with a seat bought through that offer on the team’s site. The Bulls’ Statement Edition Night against Detroit is a uniform night; the next bobblehead in their Statement series, Norman Powell, follows on Wednesday, Dec. 30. Teams can still add or change items during the season.

What comes next

After Christmas, NBC adds Holiday Hoops games on Monday, Dec. 28, and Tuesday, Dec. 29, and the Pelicans host the Lakers for their New Year’s Eve Bash on Thursday, Dec. 31. The week itself opens with Knicks at Cavaliers on Monday, Dec. 21.