NBA’s New Year’s week, Dec. 28-Jan. 3: an Okongwu bobblehead, a Pelicans New Year’s Eve Bash, Snoopy hats and every giveaway

Oct. 26, 2026 — The NBA closes 2026 and opens 2027 with 16 themed home dates in seven days, and New Year’s Eve is the centerpiece: three games on Thursday, Dec. 31, carry an Onyeka Okongwu bobblehead in Atlanta, a domino set in Sacramento and a light-up fan chain at the Pelicans’ New Year’s Eve Bash. Below is every night from Monday, Dec. 28, to Sunday, Jan. 3, with local and Cairo tip times and a Game Center link for each game.

The previous week is in our Christmas week guide, and the league calendar is in the 2026-27 key dates.

New Year’s Eve, Thursday, Dec. 31

The Hawks start the day early with a 3 p.m. tip against Milwaukee, and the first 5,000 fans through the doors at State Farm Arena take home an Onyeka Okongwu bobblehead, the second of four figures on the Atlanta calendar. The same game is one of the dates for the Hawks’ SpongeBob ticket offer, which comes with a Hawks x SpongeBob bucket hat.

Out west, the Kings also tip at 3 p.m. local time and call it Game Night: the first 10,000 fans at Golden 1 Center against Brooklyn go home with a set of Kings dominoes, courtesy of The Apex at Red Hawk Resort + Casino. The evening game belongs to the Pelicans, who host the Lakers at 7 p.m. CT for their New Year’s Eve Bash, with Entergy handing the first 6,000 arrivals a Pelicans fan chain that lights up. For viewers in Egypt that one starts at 3 a.m. on New Year’s Day.

The rest of the week

Tuesday, Dec. 29, has three themed nights. The Grizzlies stage Big Memphis Night against San Antonio, with performances, pyrotechnics and a long-sleeve shirt by a Memphis designer for the first 5,000 through the doors; the Trail Blazers hold Harry Potter Night against Brooklyn, selling a co-branded Blazers scarf with special tickets; and the Hornets honor teachers on Educators Appreciation Night against Orlando. On Wednesday the Bulls hand out the Norman Powell figure in their Statement Edition bobblehead series against Boston.

New Year’s Day brings In It for My City Night to Little Caesars Arena, where the Pistons feature local performers and small businesses against Orlando. Saturday, Jan. 2, is the giveaway day: the Warriors give a Snoopy bucket hat to the first 10,000 fans at Peanuts Night against Brooklyn, and the Pelicans hold Euro Fête against Miami, with a Sprite light-up scarf for the first 6,000 fans, as a send-off before their two games against the Spurs in Paris on Thursday, Jan. 14, and Manchester on Sunday, Jan. 17.

Sunday, Jan. 3, is built for children. The Rockets celebrate Clutch the Bear’s birthday against Cleveland with a beanie for the first 5,000 kids 12 and under, the Bucks throw Bango’s birthday on the same afternoon as their Sesame Street Night against Charlotte, and the Magic host Kids Night against Memphis. The Brooklyn Nets will walk into three of these nights on one road trip, in Portland, Sacramento and San Francisco, while the Lakers go from New Orleans to Chicago to Toronto in four days.

Every themed night, Dec. 28 to Jan. 3

Tip times come from the league schedule. In late December and early January, Cairo is seven hours ahead of the East Coast, eight ahead of Central time and 10 ahead of the West Coast. No team has listed a themed night for Monday, Dec. 28, when NBC opens its two days of Holiday Hoops games.

Date	Game	Tip (local)	Cairo time	Night / giveaway
Tue., Dec. 29	Magic at Hornets	7 p.m. ET	Wed 2:00 a.m.	Educators Appreciation Night
Tue., Dec. 29	Spurs at Grizzlies	7 p.m. CT	Wed 3:00 a.m.	Big Memphis Night; Memphis-designed long-sleeve shirt (first 5,000)
Tue., Dec. 29	Nets at Trail Blazers	7 p.m. PT	Wed 5:00 a.m.	Harry Potter Night; Blazers x Harry Potter scarf (ticket package)
Wed., Dec. 30	Celtics at Bulls	7 p.m. CT	Thu 3:00 a.m.	Statement Edition Night; Norman Powell bobblehead
Thu., Dec. 31	Bucks at Hawks	3 p.m. ET	Thu 10:00 p.m.	Onyeka Okongwu bobblehead, first 5,000 fans; SpongeBob bucket hat (ticket package)
Thu., Dec. 31	Nets at Kings	3 p.m. PT	Fri 1:00 a.m.	Game Night; Kings domino set (first 10,000)
Thu., Dec. 31	Lakers at Pelicans	7 p.m. CT	Fri 3:00 a.m.	New Year’s Eve Bash; light-up fan chain (first 6,000)
Fri., Jan. 1	Magic at Pistons	7:30 p.m. ET	Sat 2:30 a.m.	In It for My City Night
Sat., Jan. 2	Cavaliers at Hornets	1 p.m. ET	Sat 8:00 p.m.	Buzz City Kids Day
Sat., Jan. 2	Heat at Pelicans	6 p.m. CT	Sun 2:00 a.m.	Euro Fête; light-up scarf (first 6,000)
Sat., Jan. 2	Lakers at Bulls	7 p.m. CT	Sun 3:00 a.m.	Statement Edition Night
Sat., Jan. 2	Nets at Warriors	5:30 p.m. PT	Sun 3:30 a.m.	Peanuts Night; Snoopy bucket hat (first 10,000)
Sun., Jan. 3	Hornets at Bucks	4:30 p.m. CT	Mon 12:30 a.m.	Bango’s Birthday and Sesame Street Night; Elmo plush (ticket package)
Sun., Jan. 3	Grizzlies at Magic	6 p.m. ET	Mon 1:00 a.m.	Kids Night
Sun., Jan. 3	Lakers at Raptors	7 p.m. ET	Mon 2:00 a.m.	Sunday Funday family activities
Sun., Jan. 3	Cavaliers at Rockets	6 p.m. CT	Mon 2:00 a.m.	Clutch’s birthday; Clutch beanie, first 5,000 kids 12 and under

How the giveaways and packages work

An item with a number beside it, like the Okongwu bobblehead or the Warriors’ Snoopy hat, is handed out at the doors until the supply runs out, so fans who want one should arrive when the gates open. The Rockets’ beanie goes only to children 12 and under. Items marked as a ticket package, such as the Blazers’ Harry Potter scarf, the Hawks’ SpongeBob bucket hat and the Bucks’ Elmo plush, come only with a seat bought through that offer on the team’s site. Teams can still add or change items during the season.

What comes next

The week opens on Monday, Dec. 28, with Cavaliers at Celtics and three other games, and the first themed night is Magic at Hornets on Tuesday. The New Year’s Eve slate starts with Bucks at Hawks at 3 p.m. ET.