For the NBA, Christmas Day in 2025 was a resounding success — at least in terms of viewership.
Across the five-game slate on the Disney networks, 47.19 million unique viewers tuned in, making it the most-watched Christmas Day since 2010 and representing a 45% year-over-year increase. These data exclude 2011, when a lockout prompted the start of the regular season to fall on Dec. 25.
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Interestingly, Christmas Day viewership may also be hinting at a general changing of the guard. The first two games of the slate — Knicks vs. Cavaliers and Thunder vs. Spurs — were the ones with the highest viewership.
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Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents
Oct. 26: The Dallas Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg dunks the ball past the Toronto Raptors’ Sandro Mamukelashvili at the American Airlines Center.
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Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents
Oct. 26: The Dallas Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg dunks the ball past the Toronto Raptors’ Sandro Mamukelashvili at the American Airlines Center.
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Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents
Oct. 26: The Washington Wizards’ Cam Whitmore dunks the ball against the Charlotte Hornets at Capital One Arena.
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Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents
Oct. 26: The Brooklyn Nets’ Michael Porter Jr. dunks in front of the San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama at Frost Bank Center.
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Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents
Oct. 25: The Denver Nuggets’ Christian Braun dunks the ball against the Phoenix Suns’ Grayson Allen at Ball Arena.
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Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents
Oct. 24: The Memphis Grizzlies’ Jaren Jackson Jr. dunks against the Miami Heat at FedExForum.
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Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents
Oct. 24: The Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo dunks over the Memphis Grizzlies’ Jaren Jackson Jr. at FedExForum.
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Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents
Oct. 22: The New York Knicks’ OG Anunoby goes up for a reverse dunk against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden.
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Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents
Oct. 22: The Utah Jazz’s Lauri Markkanen dunks against the Los Angeles Clippers at Delta Center.
Knicks-Cavs averaged 6.37 million viewers, making it the most-watched 12 p.m. ET Christmas game in history. Thunder-Spurs averaged 6.71 million, making that the most-viewed second game since 2017.
The league made an impact on social media, as well. According to Videocities, the NBA generated more than 1.6 billion views across social platforms, making it the sports brand with most views on Christmas.
This is notable, given that the NFL has also laid claim to the holiday, broadcasting Christmas games over the past two years. NFL remains king in broadcast viewership, but this year’s games proved to be significantly inconsequential, with injuries marring the matchups, which mostly featured teams already eliminated or in danger of elimination from playoff contention.
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The Knicks-Cavaliers game featured a late flurry from New York, which rallied back from a 17-point fourth quarter deficit to beat Cleveland, 126-124.
Dec. 25: The San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama dunks against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center.
The Thunder-Spurs game featured the latest iteration of an emerging rivalry in the NBA, one that features a pair of the game’s most dynamic young stars in Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama and reigning NBA MVP, Shai Gilegous-Alexander.
The other games on the 2025 Christmas slate were Warriors-Mavericks, Lakers-Rockets and Nuggets-Timberwolves.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA on Christmas Day TV ratings up as NFL invasion continues