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The NBA has regular-season games on Halloween, Christmas, New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Inauguration Day and President’s Day. As for today, Election Day, the NBA and the leader of its players prefer the focus be on the polls and not the court as the President of the United States and local government officials are elected. “It was important,” New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum, who is also the president of the NBA Players Association, told Andscape about being off on Election Day. “It was something that [the NBPA] talked about and I was vocal about. There is an importance of us being able to spread information to others. It’s important for us to take the time off to make sure everybody goes out and votes and point a spotlight to that.”
Law Murray: Dates that NBA will not play next season - Nov. 5 (Election Day) - Nov. 28 (Thanksgiving) - Dec. 18 (post-NBA Cup) - Dec. 24 (Christmas Eve) - Feb. 14-19 (All-Star Weekend/break) - April 12 (eve of season finale) NBA will play games on day of NCAA Men's basketball Championship.
For the third consecutive season, no NBA games have been scheduled for Election Day (Tuesday, Nov. 5) as the league will continue to encourage fans and the broader NBA community to make a plan to vote and participate in the civic process. As part of this initiative, the NBA will share important resources from voting organizations and highlight the civic engagement work of teams in their markets.
NBA Communications: Group Play "Tournament Nights" will take place every Tuesday and Friday from Nov. 3-28 (with the exception of Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 7, when no games will be played). The NBA In-Season Tournament Groups ⬇️
Group Play "Tournament Nights" will take place every Tuesday and Friday from Nov. 3-28 (with the exception of Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 7, when no games will be played).
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) August 11, 2023
The NBA In-Season Tournament Groups ⬇️ https://t.co/N7lNuBLLbT pic.twitter.com/Ysmo6H5hzd
After a jam-packed Monday night, the NBA is at rest on Tuesday. Not one of 30 teams is scheduled to play. League officials left Election Day open on purpose as part of their effort to educate players and the public about political participation. “We don’t usually change the schedule for an external event,” said James Cadogan, executive director of the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition, to NBC News in August. “But voting and Election Day are obviously unique and incredibly important to our democracy.”
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All 30 teams are doing various things in advance of Tuesday’s midterm election, like airing public service announcements, leading registration drives and having employees volunteer at polling locations. The league won't play any games on Election Day. But the volume is lower than two years ago. The “More Than A Vote” campaign is dormant, its URL says the site can't be reached and its last tweet coming in early January.
Shams Charania: First time ever: All 15 NBA games on Monday will be available to watch for free on the new NBA App. All 30 teams are playing Nov. 7 – ahead of having Tuesday off to encourage voting on Election Day.
The NBA announced that no games will be played on Election Day this season.
— ESPN (@espn) August 16, 2022
The decision comes in an effort to promote nonpartisan civic engagement and encouraging fans to make a plan to vote during midterm elections. pic.twitter.com/KZ0on5GYgR
LeBron James: I hope y’all understand Black voter suppression doesn’t stop on Election Day. It’s just going to get worse because they know what we did. @morethanavote Folded handsRaised fistBlack heartCrown
The bill is the first major proposal in Georgia to limit absentee voting after Trump lost to Biden in last year’s presidential election. #gapol https://t.co/PqcV7Nxbkj
— Greg Bluestein (@bluestein) January 27, 2021
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Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson opened the drop box, inserted her ballot envelope and closed the door. That was it; it was that simple. Benson, along with Pistons vice chairman Arn Tellem and coach Dwane Casey, took part in a small ceremony Tuesday morning to demonstrate the ease of dropping off completed ballots on Election Day, for those who already received absentee ballots.
Not that it comes as a surprise, but LeBron James officially took a side in the presidential race ahead of Election Day on Tuesday. James — who has been extremely vocal about the election, helping register people to vote and other social justice issues in recent months — endorsed Vice President Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris in an Instagram post on Monday night.
So, a handful of NBA moms have followed their sons’ efforts by speaking out on systemic racism and participating in various voting initiatives. The Wizards are one of 23 NBA franchises hosting voting sites at their venue. The mothers of Los Angeles Lakers guard Quinn Cook (Janet), Golden State Warriors forward Damion Lee (Michelle Riddick) and Grant-Holston are volunteering as poll workers at Capital One Arena. Janet Cook started as a greeter last week and plans to work there through Election Day. Grant-Holston and Riddick will help as election judges on Sunday and Election Day, which will entail registering same-day voters and signing in people that have already registered.
Less than a week before Election Day, San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich appeared in an ad formally endorsing Joe Biden and once again criticizing President Donald Trump. Popovich, an Air Force veteran, slammed Trump's alleged description of service members as "suckers" and "losers" and appealed to decency and the rejection of white supremacy in a one-minute ad put together by The Lincoln Project, a group of anti-Trump conservatives.
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