TST Best Bets- Christmas 2025

Christmas Day delivers a gift-wrapped betting slate, pairing the spectacle of the NFL with marquee NBA showdowns under the year’s brightest lights. From early kickoffs to late-night tipoffs, the holiday is wrapped in tradition, star power and playoff implications. For bettors, it’s a chance to find value hidden beneath the tree. Here are tonight’s best bets brought to you by BetOnline.ag. Click here to join. All new players get a 50% welcome bonus and up to $250 in free bets.

First Pick: Over 232.5 Points

Rundown: The Los Angeles Lakers (19-9) host Christmas action as they welcome the Houston Rockets (17-10) to the Crypto.com Arena for a Western Conference holiday clash. 

After beginning their respective seasons strong, both teams have begun to cool down as the new year nears. Los Angeles will look to bounce back after consecutive blowout losses to the Clippers and Suns, while Houston seeks to return to winning basketball after dropping four of its last five. 

Los Angeles welcomes back star guard Luka Doncic to the lineup after leaving Saturday’s loss to the Clippers with a left leg contusion. His 34.1 points per game leads the NBA and has been the driving force for the Laker offense. His counterpart Austin Reaves is in midst of a breakout season, averaging a career-high 27.3 PPG in 22 games. LeBron James adds another chapter to his legacy, starting an NBA game on Christmas for the 20th time in his 22-year career.

As for Houston, 18-year veteran Kevin Durant has led the charge for the offense, averaging 25.2 points per game in his first season with the Rockets. Center Alperen Sengun is off to his best start to a season in his career, posting 23.0 points and 6.9 assists per game in 25 games. 

In Los Angeles’ and Houston’s 55 combined games this season, 31 have cleared the projected point total (56.3%). Houston’s offensive attack is among the best in the NBA, ranking third in the league with 120.5 points per game. Scoring has come in bunches at home, where Los Angeles is 11-0 to the over this season. Additionally, 12 of 17 (70.6%) road games for Houston have eclipsed the point total this season, making the over the favorable play for both sides.

Expect the return of Doncic to spark the Los Angeles offense while Durant and company start fast, leading to the gift of a high-scoring affair on Christmas Day. 

Second Pick: Under 38.5 Points

Rundown: The Denver Broncos (12-3), who hold the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs, travel to GEHA Field for a primetime AFC West matchup with the Patrick Mahomes-less Kansas City Chiefs (6-9) in Week 17. 

Kansas City’s season has unraveled after a dramatic shift in close games. A year after going 12-0 in one-score contests, the Chiefs are tied for a league-worst 1-7 in such games this season and have been eliminated from playoff contention for the first time since 2014. Three-time Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes is set to miss the remainder of the season after suffering a torn ACL and MCL in Week 15’s loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. 

Chris Oladokun is set to make his first career start at quarterback after an injury to backup Gardner Minshew in last week’s 26-9 loss to the Tennessee Titans. The 2022 7th round pick out of South Dakota State will be challenged with sustaining drives against one of the best defenses in the NFL. 

Denver enters Christmas Day with the league’s 5th-ranked scoring defense, allowing 19.7 points per game. The defense had its worst performance against Jacksonville last week, surrendering 34 points while failing to generate a turnover in a 14-point home loss to Trevor Lawrence’s Jaguars. Linebacker Nik Bonitto presence on the defensive side has lifted Denver’s unit into one of the most feared in the NFL, totaling 13 tackles for loss alongside 12.5 sacks in 15 games this season. 

Prior to the season, this matchup had the makings of being a potentially division altering battle. With Kansas City out of contention, Andy Reid's team will look to knock off their division rivals and derail Denver’s hopes of securing a first-round bye. Between the cool conditions and a quarterback making his debut against a top-five defense, this matchup sets up for strong defensive play and limited scoring opportunities.