Thunder guard Jalen Williams, left, drives past Phoenix Suns center Mark Williams during the second half of an NBA Cup game on Dec. 10 in Oklahoma City. (AP file photo)

Jalen Williams’ plan for Thursday is mapped out like this: Presents in the morning, then a game in the afternoon.

To him, that sounds like an exceptional Christmas.

Williams and the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder — who felt snubbed by the Christmas schedule-makers a year ago — are on the league’s slate of showcase games this year, taking on the San Antonio Spurs as part of the annual Dec. 25 quintupleheader.

The schedule, with all times Eastern: Cleveland at New York gets things started at noon, followed by the Spurs at the Thunder at 2:30, Dallas at Golden State at 5, Houston at the Los Angeles Lakers at 8 and Minnesota at Denver at 10:30.

“As a basketball player, I feel like you grow up — actually, if you’re a sports fan, you grow up watching sports on Christmas. To be able to be a part of it is really cool,” Williams said. “What time do we play, 1:30 (Central)? Yeah, we’re like the cool game. Like, 1:30, presents have already been opened and everybody’s kind of watching the games. I’m really looking forward to that.”

For most of the Thunder, it’ll be a first: The only current Oklahoma City players who have scored in a Christmas game are Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso. And it’ll be the second Christmas game for San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama, whose holiday debut last year was a 42-point, 18-rebound effort against New York.

“It’s a big day for the NBA and the guys are excited to play on that slate of games,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “It’s one of 82 at the end of the day, but it is an elevated circumstance because of the attention on the game and the noise around it. Those are good experiences for any team and certainly for us.”

For LeBron James, it will not be a first: If he plays Thursday with the Lakers, it’ll be his 20th Christmas game. That’s more than 17 current franchises have played in their existence.

“I’d much rather be at home with my family,” James said. “But it’s a game, it’s the game I love, it’s a game I watched when I was a kid on Christmas Day, watching a lot of the greatest play the game on Christmas. It’s always been an honor to play it. I’m going to be completely honest: I would like to be home on the couch with my family all throughout the day, but my number is called, our number is called so we have to go out and perform.”

Still waiting

The Christmas wait goes on for some teams.

Sacramento hasn’t played on Dec. 25 since 2003, Indiana — which might have gotten the nod this year if Tyrese Haliburton didn’t get hurt in Game 7 of the NBA Finals — hasn’t made the Christmas list since 2004 and Detroit hasn’t since 2005.

To put that into context, it should be noted that Seattle — which hasn’t had a team in nearly two decades — played its last Christmas game in 2007, or more recently than the Kings, Pacers and Pistons have.

Orlando hasn’t played on Christmas since 2011, and Chicago hasn’t since 2016. Meanwhile, Boston’s nine-year streak of Christmas appearances comes to an end this year.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Lakers are playing on Christmas for the 27th consecutive year and Golden State is playing on Christmas for a 13th consecutive season.

“Just excited for another big game on Christmas Day,” Curry said Monday after the Warriors won their second straight to get to 15-15 on the season and go into the holiday with a bit of momentum. “The vibes are good right now.”

Welcome, kid

Dallas’ Cooper Flagg — who turned 19 this week — is set to make his Christmas debut.

If Flagg plays, he’ll be the fourth-youngest player to appear in a Christmas game. Kobe Bryant, Bill Willoughby and James were all 18 in their first Christmas contest.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA