BREAKING: Spurs End Christmas Drought, To Face Knicks At Madison Square Garden

The San Antonio Spurs will travel to New York for a highly anticipated matchup in Madison Square Garden against the red-hot New York Knicks.

Nov 8, 2023; New York, New York, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) controls the ball against New York Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) during the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

As the NBA offseason continues, the schedule began to unravel on Thursday evening as five games that will occur on Dec. 25 were revealed, per Shams Charania.

Here they are below:

• San Antonio Spurs at New York Knicks
• Minnesota Timberwolves at Dallas Mavericks
• Philadelphia 76ers at Boston Celtics
• Los Angeles Lakers at Golden State Warriors
• Denver Nuggets at Phoenix Suns

These five hand-picked games to watch on Christmas Day typically have a bigger reason for viewership than the average contest. The first matchup listed above is a great example, as reigning NBA Rookie of the Year and generational prospect Victor Wembanyama will play in the esteemed Madison Square Garden — aptly nicknamed "The World's Most Famous Arena."

Well, the #Spurs will get their Christmas Day matchup, per Shams Charania. They’ll go first on the slate in a road game against the #Knicks.

Interesting move. If they continue to get better and Victor Wembanyama continues to develop as he’s shown, it may be the first of many.

— Matt Guzman (@mattgzman) August 9, 2024

This will be Wembanyama's second time in MSG as his first appearance occurred in just his eighth career game. On Nov. 11, the big man scored 14 points on a subpar 4 of 14 from the field, while also grabbing nine rebounds, two assists and a block. The Knicks won that game 126-105.

READ MORE: Wembanyama Preps for Madison Square Garden Debut at Knicks

The Spurs hosted the Knicks nearly 70 games later in San Antonio and won 130-126 in a close overtime battle. Wembanyama improved with each and every game after the first matchup with the Knicks, and that was evident in their latter game as he went off for 40 points on 13 of 22 shooting from the field, including 4 of 9 from 3, 20 rebounds, seven assists, two steals and a block.

These two teams have played a very different amount of Christmas Day games over the course of their respective franchise histories, but neither are above .500 as the Knicks have logged a 23-31 record while the Spurs are 5-6 in their small sample size of Dec. 25 contests.

These two ball clubs also finished last season on opposite sides, as the Spurs were second-to-last in the Western Conference with a 22-60 record while the Knicks only trailed the eventual champion Boston Celtics for the regular top spot in the Eastern Conference.

Now, both are set to meet again for what could be a high-stakes matchup.

The extra holiday attention is only a bonus.