Giannis Antetokounmpo will play on Christmas Day in his first season with his new team, and he’s already looking forward to giving Miami Heat fans a present in the form of a victory over the Boston Celtics.
The Heat and the Celtics are two of the 10 teams the league announced will be seeing action on Dec. 25, with the showdown scheduled to take place at TD Garden in Boston, Mass.
Antetokounmpo sounded thrilled over the opportunity to play on a special day.
“That’s going to be fun. I haven’t played on Christmas for a while now, NBA. C’mon now. I’m just excited to give fans a little excitement. I also enjoy being at home with my kids during Christmas, but there’s nothing better than a little kid opening his gift and then turning on the TV watching NBA games,” the two-time NBA Most Valuable Player said.
What’s more, the 10-time NBA All-Star Antetokounmpo is expecting nothing less than a win on Christmas.
“I’m excited for that and gonna put on a show. I’m going to get a win too.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo says the Heat are going to win on Christmas Day and he’s going to put on a show 👀
— Heat Central (@TheHeatCentral) August 11, 2026
“That’s going to be fun. I haven’t played on Christmas for a while now, NBA. C’mon now. I’m just excited to give fans a little excitement. I also enjoy being at home with my… pic.twitter.com/ub9KQawrAZ
The Heat will be seeking revenge against Boston in the 2026-27 regular season, and this time, they have Antetokounmpo to help them accomplish that. Miami lost all four games against the Celtics last regular season.
Boston will also parade a new-look roster, one that no longer has Jaylen Brown after he was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in the offseason. That trade is only topped by the blockbuster swap that brought Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks to the Heat.
Still, the Celtics are no pushovers, with Jayson Tatum leading the charge.
For Antetokounmpo, the Christmas Day date with Boston will give him a fuller understanding of the Heat-Celtics rivalry, fueled in part by the fact that these teams met six times in the playoffs between 2010 and 2024.
