No NBA Christmas Game for Mavericks in 2026, Breaking 6-Year Streak

The NBA is rolling out its 2026-27 schedule this week, and that started with the reveal of the nationally televised opening week games and Christmas Day games.

After six years in a row of playing on one of the biggest days of the regular season, the Dallas Mavericks will not be featured on Christmas Day this season.

The matchups the NBA announced this year for Christmas are Spurs at Knicks, Heat at Celtics, 76ers at Lakers, Thunder at Timberwolves, and Nuggets at Warriors.

A LOADED CHRISTMAS DAY on ABC & ESPN! 🎄

🎁 Wemby, Spurs visit Brunson and the defending champion Knicks in a rematch of last season’s NBA Finals
🎁 Tatum, Celtics host Giannis and the Heat in Beantown
🎁 LeBron returns to LA to face Luka and the Lakers
🎁 Shai and Ant go… pic.twitter.com/njuWV146ym
— NBA (@NBA) August 11, 2026

The Mavericks played the Golden State Warriors on Christmas Day last year, with star rookie Cooper Flagg getting a chance in the spotlight. The Warriors won, 126-116, and Anthony Davis went down with another injury. It only cost him a few games, but it was yet another reason the Mavs moved him at the trade deadline.

Prior to that, Luka Doncic was such a big draw that he consistently had the Mavericks playing on Christmas Day, participating in it every season outside of his rookie year. The last time we saw Doncic in a Mavericks uniform was on Christmas Day, when he suffered a calf strain against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Nico Harrison traded him about six weeks later.

Given how the last two Christmas Day games have gone for the Mavericks, maybe it's best they don't play this year.

No Big Opening Week Games, Either

On top of the Christmas schedule, the NBA also released its nationally televised opening week games. Once again, the Mavericks weren't represented on that list.

We'll have to wait for the full schedule release on Thursday to know who they're opening the season against, but we do at least know they won't be playing the San Antonio Spurs for the fourth straight season, as the Spurs will start against the OKC Thunder on Tuesday, October 20th, then the Houston Rockets on Friday, October 25th.

Technically, the Mavs could start against the Spurs on Wednesday or Thursday, but it feels highly unlikely that the season would start with a back-to-back for the Western Conference Champions.

OPENING WEEK IS MUST-SEE 🍿

NBA Champions raise a banner. Superstars debut with new teams. Rivalries pick up where they left off.

The 2026-27 NBA season tips off Tuesday, October 20. Watch all the action on NBC/Peacock, ESPN and Prime.

NBA Schedule Release presented by… pic.twitter.com/xm6FmyJjyK
— NBA (@NBA) August 11, 2026

So, who would be a good option to start the season with for the Mavericks?

A sneaky one could be the Charlotte Hornets. We had a legendary Rookie of the Year battle last year between Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel, and they had a game where Flagg went for 49 points in a close loss. Having those two continue to go against each other would be fun.

The NBA will release the NBA Cup schedule on Wednesday, then the full regular season schedule on Thursday.

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