The NFL is pretty clear that it wants to take over Christmas Day from the NBA. Maybe it already has.
But on Friday morning, coming off a five-game hoops slate on ESPN and ABC opposite the NFL’s tripleheader across Netflix and Prime Video, basketball led the way on the sports studio shows.
Get Up kicked off the day on ESPN with five minutes on the Detroit Lions before moving quickly to Nikola Jokic’s 50-point masterpiece in an overtime win over Minnesota. Monica McNutt and Kendrick Perkins led the crew (with Brian Custer hosting in place of Mike Greenberg) through a discussion of whether Jokic looks good enough to win his second title.
After a quick chat about Michigan homing in on Kyle Whittingham as its next head coach, Get Up went right back to the NBA. Overall, the early-morning show dedicated about half its segments to hoops in its first hour — but far more time overall.
“It’s always somebody else’s fault. It’s never JJ Redick’s fault.” 😳
—@KendrickPerkins on JJ Redick’s comments after the Lakers’ loss to the Rockets pic.twitter.com/Y2GdJyb9uI
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) December 26, 2025
In the next timeslot, First Take opened the show with the NBA. Both McNutt and Perkins slid over to the debate show, bouncing through Jokic, JJ Redick’s Los Angeles Lakers, and the continued dominance of Victor Wembanyama over the reigning champs in Oklahoma City in a 23-minute A-block dedicated entirely to the NBA.
The second and third segments were dedicated entirely to Christmas Day football before the debate returned to the hardwood and who could dethrone the Thunder.
Overall, the most-watched sports TV show in the country spent 40 of its first 60 minutes the day after Christmas talking about basketball over football. Even coming off a typical Monday or Thursday night NFL game, it would be rare to see producers set up a show that way.
“The Spurs are being very disrespectful when it comes down to the Thunder. … I’ve never seen a team punk the Thunder like I’ve seen over the past few weeks like the Spurs.”
—@KendrickPerkins pic.twitter.com/sv2Tq8gUcV
— First Take (@FirstTake) December 26, 2025
On FS1, the morning opened with an hour-long edition of the Danny Parkins-helmed First Things First: OT, with Barstool off for the day. In a reminder of FS1’s complete lack of a basketball talent roster, Parkins (who has written a book on pro basketball) was flanked by Willie Colon and Eric Mangini and spent the entire hour only talking football.
But once Colin Cowherd took over with The Herd, it was back to hoops. Cowherd predictably opened with a few minutes on his beloved Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos before spending the entire B-block on the Lakers and then the San Antonio Spurs. Cowherd operates with more editorial freedom than most television hosts, so he spent time on the Baltimore Ravens in the first hour before also interviewing Mangini and later NFL insider Albert Breer.
However, the day was not about ESPN focusing on basketball while Fox insistently covered the garbage Christmas NFL slate. FS1’s afternoon show, First Things First, opened with multiple NBA segments, first on San Antonio and then the Lakers.
.@Chris_Broussard says NBA fans should all be very thankful for the Spurs:
“They proved they are a nightmarish matchup for OKC… The Spurs are more talented.” pic.twitter.com/ZKaL9acJFQ
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) December 26, 2025
Star host Nick Wright even walked through a segment breaking down Jokic’s all-time standing before the show even addressed the football slate.
It is unlikely that the NBA will out-rate the NFL this year in any window, even with the hoops on linear television and the football on streaming. Americans just love football too much.
However, what the pattern on Friday’s sports shows tells us is that the NBA had the far better product and more compelling games on what has become the marquee face-off between the two leagues in the entire year. The reason, of course, is that the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys collapsed before they would get to Week 16, and half the quarterbacks playing on Christmas were third-stringers. It won’t be like that every year.
The NBA, though, can rest on its laurels, having put out two consecutive years of incredible games and likely great ratings. And having shown that it can still compete — if not win — in the national sports conversation each year on Christmas.