TNT normally aired NBA Christmas Day games only if it falls on a Thursday (except during the 2011–12 season). However, the network announced that they would air a Christmas Day game on December 25, 2017 (a Monday) featuring the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Los Angeles Lakers. It also marked the first time that the "Inside the NBA" crew of Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal called an NBA regular-season game together. TNT also announced that the "Players Only" games would now air every Tuesday starting January 23; the franchise also expanded to include Tuesday night games on NBA TV during the first half of the season.