ESPN and ABC will be back next week with a massive five-game slate for the annual NBA Christmas Day celebration, headlined by a Western Conference bout between the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers.
The networks announced Thursday their finalized Christmas broadcast rosters. The No. 1 team of Mike Breen, Tim Legler, Richard Jefferson and Lisa Salters will call the primetime game between Kevin Durant and LeBron James from L.A. The early-evening West Coast game has recently driven the best viewership of the day for the network.
All five games are available on ESPN, ABC and the ESPN Unlimited streaming service.
EXCLUSIVE: ESPN’s NBA Christmas Day coverage will feature these broadcast teams across the five-game schedule, FOS has learned. pic.twitter.com/mslhVfYIPL
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) December 18, 2025
As previously revealed when ESPN announced the return of the Dunk the Halls alt-cast for the morning tip-off game, Ryan Ruocco and Doris Burke will be in New York City for Knicks-Cavaliers, with Jorge Sedano reporting.
Next up from Oklahoma City for Thunder-Spurs in a rematch of last week’s incredible NBA Cup semifinal, Mark Jones and Jay Bilas will team up, with Alyssa Lang reporting.
Calling the Christmas Day debut of No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks in Golden State will be Dave Pasch and P.J. Carlesimo. Notably, studio host Malika Andrews will be the sideline reporter for that game. Carlesimo is typically part of the network’s top radio broadcast team. Pasch unofficially served as the network’s No. 2 NBA announcer last season.
Fellow radio announcer Marc Kestecher will round out the day’s games from Minneapolis as the Timberwolves host the Denver Nuggets. He will be joined by Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White, who has called pro and college games for the Worldwide Leader throughout her coaching career, as well as Katie George on the sideline.
Next week will also mark the return of Inside the NBA to the NBA Christmas Day celebration, part of ESPN’s licensing agreement with TNT to air the beloved studio show.
ESPN has a great opportunity to continue its upward momentum with NBA Christmas viewership after a strong 2024. With Patrick Mahomes out, the Kansas City Chiefs eliminated, and the Dallas Cowboys on the ropes, a lot of air has come out of the NFL slate on Netflix and Prime Video.
As far as the announcers are concerned, ESPN’s assignments figure to shine a spotlight on new voices. With a smaller slate of games under its new broadcast deal with the NBA, the Worldwide Leader’s broadcast roster has dwindled considerably. Pulling Kestecher and Carlesimo from the radio while calling on Bilas and White for backup shows just how quickly things have changed.
All that changeover means Drew Carter and Monica McNutt get a spotlight on the Dunk the Halls game, while younger talent like Mike Couzens, Sarah Kustok and Ed Cohen get the call for the radio broadcasts.