NBA won't schedule games on Election Day
No NBA games will be played on the U.S. midterm Election Day, which takes place Nov. 8, the league announced Tuesday.
"The scheduling decision came out of the NBA family's focus on promoting nonpartisan civic engagement and encouraging fans to make a plan to vote during midterm elections," the league said in a statement.
All 30 teams will play Nov. 7, which will be promoted as a "civic engagement night," according to MSNBC's Shaquille Brewster.
"We don't usually change the schedule for an external event, but voting and Election Day are unique and incredibly important to our democracy," National Basketball Social Justice Coalition executive director James Cadogan told Brewster.
During the 2020 presidential election, 23 teams used their home stadiums as polling and voting centers.
The NBA generally doesn't schedule games on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, or the day of the NCAA national championship game, which is usually the first Monday in April. It also builds a few days off around the All-Star Game in February.
The league's full schedule, including nationally televised games, will be announced Wednesday.