Jalen Brunson and Donovan Mitchell are reportedly set to square off in a marquee matchup between the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers next season.
Jalen Brunson, Donovan Mitchell to Meet in Marquee Knicks-Cavaliers Matchup in 2025-26 Season: Report originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The NBA offseason has quieted down after a busy start as teams are now preparing for the start of next season at the end of October.
While the 2025-26 NBA season is still over two months away, massive news dropped on Friday as the Christmas Day schedule was released by ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Among the teams that will be showcased on are the New York Knicks as they will host the Cleveland Cavaliers as the first of five matchups on Christmas Day.
🚨🎄 NBA Christmas Day 2025 on ABC and ESPN, per sources:
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 8, 2025
- Cleveland Cavaliers at New York Knicks
- San Antonio Spurs at Oklahoma City Thunder
- Houston Rockets at LA Lakers
- Dallas Mavericks at Golden State Warriors
- Minnesota Timberwolves at Denver Nuggets
Of course, the Knicks are set to enter next season as one of the teams to beat in the Eastern Conference, which is weaker than last season thanks to injuries to Jayson Taum of the Boston Celtics and Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers.
For the Knicks, they will enter next season with a new head coach in Mike Brown but they still have their core of last season that comprises of Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart and OG Anunoby.
New York also made some additions to their bench this offseason by signing Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele as they addressed some key issues they had last season.
Of course, the Knicks reached the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2000 last season before losing to the Pacers and they are looking to make a run at the NBA Finals next season.
On the other side, the Cavaliers finished first in the East last season behind their core of Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley.
Cleveland then went on sweep the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs before they were eliminated in five games by the Pacers in the second round.
The Cavaliers will now look to build off their success last season as they and the Knicks will enter next season as the favorites to come out of the East, which makes their matchup on Christmas Day even more intriguing.
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 8, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: Basketball
