Suns Get Final Verdict on NBA Christmas Day Game

PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns have been an off-and-on team the NBA's used for Christmas Day games in recent years, though 2026 will be a different story.

The Suns will not be playing on the holiday, as the league — ahead of its full schedule release on Thursday — announced the following Christmas matchups:

• San Antonio Spurs @ New York Knicks
• Miami Heat @ Boston Celtics
• Philadelphia 76ers @ Los Angeles Lakers
• Oklahoma City Thunder @ Minnesota Timberwolves
• Denver Nuggets @ Golden State Warriors

The Suns previously played on Christmas Day for four consecutive years from 2021-24 before missing the holiday last season. There was some hope, after a surprise push to the playoffs, that the Suns would again be participants. However, that's not quite the case.

That speaks more to Phoenix's star power as opposed to the talent and/or expectations. While Devin Booker is obviously a notable star, globally massive figures such as Steph Curry (who missed the playoffs and were actually eliminated by the Suns last year) will always get the nod on Christmas.

That's fine, and actually may be preferred by some players to spend the holiday with their famalies.

The Suns have an all-time record of 13-9 on Christmas dating back to 1968. They've won two of their last nine dating back to 1995.