If you purchase a product through a link on our site, we may receive compensation.
The Los Angeles Lakers host the Houston Rockets Christmas Eve Thursday at 8:00 PM ET. This star-studded matchup is a potential showcase of two Western Conference teams that could find themselves in a playoff series in a few months.
Rockets vs. The Lakers will air on ABC and ESPN and stream live DIRECTV (Free Trial).
What: NBA regular season
WHO: Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Lakers
When: Thursday, December 25, 2025
Where: crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California
Time: 8 p.m. ET
TV: ABC, ESPN
Live Streams: DIRECTV (Free Trial), fuboTV (free trial), Sling
Here’s a recent NBA story via the Associated Press:
The NBA and FIBA announced Monday that they will begin the process of working with teams and owners to join their planned new league in Europe next month.
As expected, the league will offer both permanent spots and a “merit-based path” to annual qualification through the FIBA Basketball Champions League or an end-of-season tournament, the parties said. Every team in a FIBA-affiliated European league would have a chance to qualify.
“The league format respects the principles of the European sports model by offering every ambitious club on the continent a fair path to the top,” said FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis.
Many details of the new league have yet to be formally finalized, including when play will begin — the working target is October 2027 — and how many teams will participate in the inaugural season. Among the models that the NBA and FIBA have explored is a 16-team league with 12 “permanent” spots and four more available through qualifiers.
The sides have been discussing the Europa League for years, and there is no shortage of the NBA’s biggest stars from the continent – such as Denver’s Nikola Jokic, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama, Los Angeles Lakers’ Luka Doncic and Utah’s Lauri Markkanen. About 1 in 6 NBA players are from Europe.
In time for the 2024 Paris Olympics, efforts to launch a new league appeared to have begun to intensify. Earlier this year, Zagklis and Silver sat side by side at a press conference in New York to announce that the NBA and FIBA were moving forward with the project. Things have moved quickly since then, and this summer JPMorgan and the Raine Group were brought in to advise on certain financial components.
“Our conversations with various stakeholders in Europe have reinforced our belief that there is a tremendous opportunity around the creation of a new league on the continent,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.
Current target countries for the NBA-FIBA effort are known to include Britain (with London and Manchester as potential host cities), France (Paris and Lyon), Spain (Madrid and Barcelona), Italy (Rome and Milan), Germany (Munich and Berlin), Greece (Athens) and Turkey (Istanbul).
The NBA has two regular season games in Europe in mid-January, with the Memphis Grizzlies and Orlando Magic traveling to Berlin and London for games.
Can I bet on the game?
Yes, you can bet on the game from your phone in New York State, and we’ve rounded up some of the best introductory offers to help you navigate your first bets from BetMGM, FanDuel, DraftKings, Bet365 and others.
Leave a Reply