NBA Leaves Suns Off Christmas Day Schedule

The Phoenix Suns were - perhaps unsurprisingly - left off the NBA's 2025 Christmas Day slate of games.

As reported by NBA insider Shams Charania, the following matchups will occur on what's arguably the biggest day of the regular season slate:

• 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

The Suns had previously played in the last four Christmas Day games for the league.

Why Aren't Phoenix Suns Playing on Christmas?

The Suns, from top to bottom, have undergone some massive cosmetic changes since the end of last regular season. Phoenix replaced seats such as general manager and head coach on top of getting rid of Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal moving into the 2025-26 season.

Time will tell if those ultimately were the right moves, though there's no denying something had to be done after Phoenix missed the postseason for the first time since the 2019-20 season.

Though Devin Booker is still a great piece to have, the league probably views the Suns as a team who might not be as good nor marketable with Durant out of town.