ESPN gives the gift of sport this Christmas with NFL, NBA, NBL, Dunk The Halls and more… ESPN is gifting wall-to-wall sports action with NFL, NBA, NBL, WNBL, NHL, NCAA College Football and more this Christmas, headlined by NBL on Christmas night, a Boxing Day Basketball marathon that includes six NBA games back-to-back, Disney’s Dunk The Halls extravaganza and the thrilling race to the NFL Playoffs.
ESPN is ‘Your Home for Hoops’ This Christmas
The NBL’s marquee Christmas Day game will feature the latest installment of the “Freeway” rivalry between the Illawarra Hawks and Sydney Kings, live at 8.30pm AEDT on ESPN.
‘Your Home for Hoops’ then delivers one of the biggest days of basketball ever seen on the ESPN network on Boxing Day.
Friday December 26 will have hoops fans tuning in from 4am AEDT for the first of SIX NBA games throughout the day.
Tipping this off will be the high-flying New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers from Madison Square Garden, live on ESPN, with the Dunk The Halls alt cast available at the same time, live on ESPN2.
At 6.30am AEDT, the San Antonio Spurs will battle the Oklahoma City Thunder in a clash between two of the top sides currently in the Western Conference before the Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors follow at 9am AEDT.
The pick of the days games arrives at 12pm AEDT when the Houston Rockets meet the Los Angeles Lakers.
LeBron James and Luka Doncic will lead the Lakers against the Rockets with both sides chasing down the OKC Thunder in a hotly contested race in the Western Conference.
The NBA action for Boxing Day concludes at 2.30pm AEDT with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets.
The National Basketball League rounds out a truly massive day of basketball as the New Zealand Breakers meet the Tasmania JackJumpers live at 7.30pm AEDT.
The Festival of Festive Hoops continues throughout the week with more NBA, NBL and WNBL action across ESPN and ESPN2.
Dunk The Halls – NBA Alt Cast from Magic Kingdom
Disney, ESPN and The NBA are again teaming up to present ‘Dunk The Halls’ – the second annual real-time animated NBA game using Sony’s Beyond Sports Technology for the Boxing Day game between the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers.
The innovative alternate presentation will be available at 4am AEDT Friday December 26 on ESPN2 (available via Kayo, Foxtel, Fetch and Sky NZ) and also Disney+.
The virtual, live re-creation of the Knicks-Cavs NBA game will unfold on ‘Main Street, USA’ in Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.
Micky Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Goofy, Pluto and Chip and Dale will return to cheer from the sidelines – joined for the first time by Stitch, who makes his Dunk The Halls debut.
Each NBA player will appear as a motion tracked animated version of themselves, captured live through Sony’s Beyond Sports Real-Time visualization and Hawk-Eye Innovations optical tracking.
Viewers will see every dunk, layup and pass from the actual game at Madison Square Garden as it happens.
NFL Season Reaches Final Stage
Boxing Day also delivers a crucial NFL showdown at 12.15pm AEDT on ESPN2, with the Denver Broncos facing the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Broncos are in line to secure the #1 position in the AFC Conference and make a charge not only to the NFL Playoffs but the Super Bowl itself.
ESPN will deliver a total of seven live NFL games over the Christmas period, a crucial time in the NFL season, with just two weeks remaining in the regular season.
Sunday December 28 will see a blockbuster clash that will have major NFL Playoff ramifications as the Green Bay Packers face the Baltimore Ravens live at 12.15pm AEDT.
Monday December 29 again sees a four game NFL Marathon, headlined by the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills facing off at 8.25am AEDT – the most anticipated game of the round.
Wednesday December 24
8am AEDT, Pittsburgh Penguins vs Toronto Maple Leafs, ESPN
12pm AEDT, Denver Nuggets vs Dallas Mavericks, ESPN
1pm AEDT, Philadelphia Flyers vs Chicago Blackhawks, ESPN2
2.30pm AEDT, Houston Rockets vs Los Angeles Clippers, ESPN
5.30pm AEDT, Cairns Taipans vs Adelaide 36ers, ESPN2
Thursday December 25
12pm AEDT, College Football Bowl: California vs Hawai’i, ESPN
8.30pm AEDT, Illawarra Hawks vs Sydney Kings, ESPN
Friday December 26
4am AEDT, Cleveland Cavaliers vs New York Knicks, ESPN
4am AEDT, Dunk The Halls: Cleveland Cavaliers vs New York Knicks, Disney+ and ESPN2
6.30am AEDT, San Antonio Spurs vs Oklahoma City Thunder, ESPN
9am AEDT, Dallas Mavericks vs Golden State Warriors, ESPN
12pm AEDT, Houston Rockets vs Los Angeles Lakers, ESPN
12.15pm AEDT, Denver Broncos vs Kansas City Chiefs, ESPN2
2.30pm AEDT, Minnesota Timberwolves vs Denver Nuggets, ESPN
7.30pm AEDT, New Zealand Breakers vs Tasmania JackJumpers, ESPN
Saturday December 27
5am AEDT, Central Michigan vs Northwestern, ESPN
8.30am AEDT, New Mexico vs Minnesota, ESPN
12pm AEDT, Florida International vs UTSA, ESPN
5pm AEDT, WNBL: Sydney Flames vs Canberra Capitals, ESPN
8pm AEDT, Melbourne United vs Brisbane Bullets, ESPN
Sunday December 28
3am AEDT, Pittsburgh vs East Carolina, ESPN
4am AEDT, Penn State vs Clemson, ESPN2
6.15am AEDT, UConn vs Army, ESPN
7.30am AEDT, Georgia Tech vs BYU, ESPN2
11am AEDT, Denver Nuggets vs Orlando Magic, ESPN2
12pm AEDT, Baltimore Ravens vs Green Bay Packers, ESPN
2.30pm AEDT, Perth Wildcats vs Adelaide 36ers, ESPN2
3pm AEDT, LSU vs Houston, ESPN
6.30pm AEDT, Geelong Venom vs Perth Lynx, ESPN
Monday December 29
5am AEDT, Seattle Seahawks vs Carolina Panthers, ESPN
5am AEDT, Pittsburgh Steelers vs Cleveland Browns, ESPN2
8.25am AEDT, Philadelphia Eagles vs Buffalo Bills, ESPN
9am AEDT, Montreal Canadiens vs Tampa Bay Lightning, ESPN2
12.15pm AEDT, Chicago Bears vs San Francisco 49ers, ESPN
1.30pm AEDT, Sacramento Kings vs Los Angeles Lakers, ESPN2
7.30pm AEDT, South East Melbourne Phoenix vs Tasmania JackJumpers, ESPN
ESPN and ESPN2 is available on Disney+, Foxtel, Kayo Sports, Fetch TV and Sky NZ
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ESPN gives the gift of sport this Christmas with NFL, NBA, NBL, Dunk The Halls and more…
NFL on ESPN
