The NBA's Christmas Day game between the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks will offer a Disney-themed alternative.
As one of the biggest draws to the NBA's Christmas Day slate, the San Antonio Spurs will travel to Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Knicks for the traditional noon game. However, this year, it will come with a bit of a twist. The Christmas Day game between the Spurs and Knicks will feature an alternative viewing style that will be Disney-themed.
According to the release, the presentation will recreate the game action on Magic Kingdom's "Main Street USA." Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Pluto, and Goofy are among the characters that will be featured on the broadcast. The NBA partnered with Disney before on something similar back in 2021 in which they had a Marvel-themed alternative broadcast.
The NBA's Christmas Day is set to be action-packed
The Disney-themed alternative broadcast will give families across the world an opportunity to enjoy the holiday with their kids while also watching NBA basketball. The matchup between the Spurs and Knicks will open up the Christmas Day festivities of an action-packed day in the Association. For the casual fans in the NBA, the Christmas Day slate is often viewed as somewhat of the first big event of the season. It's part of the reason why there's generally so much emphasis on Christmas Day in the NBA.
Interestingly enough, it's no surprise that the NBA is pushing forward one of its biggest stars (Victor Wembanyama) on one of its biggest regular-season days. And it will be intriguing to see what the response is with the ratings. To start this season, the NBA's ratings have continued to decline. The start of the season may not be a great representation, especially with football in full swing. But the Christmas Day ratings could be telling - even with the NFL not respective the NBA anymore (as they now have their own Holiday slate).
From all indications, it does seem as if the NBA is all-in with this Christmas Day slate. In many ways, it does help bring intrigue back into the regular season. And with this new Disney-themed flare to it, the league is also hoping it can bring new eyes as well.