New York Knicks fans will have their stockings filled this year on Christmas Day when reigning Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs come to visit Madison Square Garden on Dec. 25.

It’s the 55th time in Knicks history that the team has played on Christmas, and Wembanyama and the Spurs are a great foil for New York to start off the five-game slate.

The best game of Wembanyama’s rookie year came against the Knicks in San Antonio where he scored a career-high 40 points and 20 rebounds for a Spurs victory in March at the Frost Bank Center.

Now, in what will likely be the next time the two teams play each other, it will come in front of an international audience on Christmas Day.

The NBA’s Christmas schedule is all about highlighting the best stars the league has to offer, and Wembanyama has already emerged into that in just one season. His 7-4 frame and ability to block shots while also shoot from distance should make him one of the most gifted players in league history. Once he enters his prime, he could eventually turn into the face of the NBA.

A 12 p.m. tipoff in New York means a 6 p.m. start back at his home in France, where he has helped the country get to the gold medal game in his first Olympics tournament. Having the game on early in the States allows for the international audience to have a better chance of catching the contest.

The league could have put the Celtics in line with the Knicks or given the Spurs an opponent like the Dallas Mavericks to ignite a new chapter in their rivalry. But instead, the league wants to have the biggest rising star playing against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on the NBA’s biggest holiday. It doesn’t get much bigger than that.

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