The Memphis Grizzlies will be part of the NBA playlist on Christmas Day for the first time.
Ja Morant and the Grizzlies will face Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and the rest of the reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors on December 25 in San Francisco, a source with knowledge of the league’s planning plans told The Associated Press.
The Grizzlies were one of two current NBA franchises not yet having a game as of December 25. The Charlotte Hornets are now the only club still awaiting their first invite to the Christmas plan.
The remainder of the Christmas schedule will have Philadelphia vs. New York, Milwaukee vs. Boston, the Los Angeles Lakers vs. Dallas, and Phoenix vs. two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets.
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The Athletic was the first to report the full lineup of Christmas Day games. The NBA is expected to release the full season schedule later this week. The season starts on October 18th. The training camps will open at the end of September.
If the Lakers’ LeBron James — the all-time leader in the Christmas standings, who goes into the season by 1,325 points behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most in NBA history — shows up in this Dec. 25 game against the Mavericks, will it will be his 17th time playing on vacation. That would break a tie with Lakers great Kobe Bryant for most of all time.
Golden State and Memphis met in the second round of last season’s playoffs, as did Milwaukee and Boston.
This is the fifth year in a row that Christmas has not been an NBA Finals rematch, subject to a late change. Golden State surpassed Boston in last season’s championship; There hasn’t been a Finals rematch on December 25 since the Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers were on their way to a fourth consecutive title series clash in the 2017-18 season.
Notably absent from the Christmas program: Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets. Durant told the Nets in June that he wants to trade elsewhere, and reiterated that request earlier this month.
Dallas will be hosting a Christmas game for the second time. The first was in 2011 after the Mavericks led the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals the previous season. James and the Heat spoiled this season opener for the Mavericks, winning 105-94.
The Lakers will play Christmas for the 24th straight year, by far the longest stretch in the league. Golden State will perform on December 25th for their tenth consecutive Christmas, Boston for their seventh consecutive year, and Milwaukee for their fifth consecutive year.
New York is playing Christmas for the 55th time, extending its record.
Of the eight teams that made it to the conference semifinals last season, seven are in this year’s Christmas program. The exception is Miami, last season’s No. 1 East, who fell to Boston in seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals.
With Memphis now getting a December 25 game, the longest Christmas droughts besides Charlotte’s include Sacramento (last Christmas game 2003), Indiana (2004), Detroit (2005), and Orlando (2011).
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.