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Why are there no NBA games today? NFL takes center stage on Thanksgiving holiday on Nov. 23 – Sporting News
For the second time in three weeks, there will be a day devoid of NBA games.
After the NBA observed Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 7, all 30 of the league’s teams will again be idle on Thursday, Nov. 23. One month into the season, each team will get a break in the action.
Why are there no NBA games today? The Sporting News explains the second early-season pause in NBA action.
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There are no NBA games today in correspondence with the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States.
The 2023-24 season marks the 13th consecutive year in which there are no NBA games on Thanksgiving Day. There has never been a formal statement on why no games are scheduled on the holiday but it has become an annual occurrence.
Thanksgiving is one of four isolated days on which the NBA holds no games. Specific to Thanksgiving, the NBA gives the spotlight to the NFL, which has three games on the holiday, including a primetime offering.
The NBA will resume with In-Season Tournament action on Friday, Nov. 24, otherwise known as Black Friday. As for holiday action, the league will again focus on a five-game slate on Christmas Day.
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The NBA last held Thanksgiving games in 2010 with a TNT doubleheader airing on Thursday night.
Because of the 2011 NBA lockout, the 2011-12 NBA season did not begin until the Christmas holiday, meaning no games were held in November. From that point forward, no games have been played on Thanksgiving.
The NBA will make up for the lack of action on Thanksgiving with 10 games on Black Friday. Because it is a Friday in November, all 10 games on the schedule are a part of In-Season Tournament Group Play.
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Gilbert McGregor is an NBA content producer for The Sporting News.