Like most on Thanksgiving, NBA players get the day off.
The league does not schedule games on Thanksgiving Day, which gives players, coaches, broadcasters and all others associated with the teams the opportunity to enjoy their holiday.
All give thanks, but why exactly is the NBA so giving?
Thanksgiving is one of the rare days on the regular-season calendar where there are no NBA games scheduled. One of four to be exact, not including the All-Star break. In addition to Thanksgiving, there are no games played on Christmas Eve, the day of the NCAA men’s basketball championship game and, over the last two years, Election Day.
The clear slate on Christmas Eve sets the stage for the NBA’s true holiday on Christmas Day. No NBA games during the NCAA championship gives the spotlight to college basketball on the sport’s biggest night of the year. The league stopped playing on Election Day to encourage teams, players and fans to vote in their respective communities while amplifying the importance of civil engagement.
But Thanksgiving? A day dedicated mostly to eating and watching television? What gives?
Watching football is as much of a Thanksgiving tradition as eating turkey.
The NBA has never, and probably will never, admit it, but it’s very likely the league does not have games on Thanksgiving because the holiday — and more importantly, the ratings — belongs to the NFL.
There is an NFL tripleheader on Thanksgiving, with this year’s games kicking off at 12:30 p.m. ET, 4:30 p.m. ET and 8:20 p.m. ET. That makes for a full day of football that early-season NBA basketball could not come close to competing with in a ratings battle. Heck, TNT network even moved its popular “Inside the NBA” doubleheader from Thursdays to Tuesdays during NFL season so it doesn’t compete for viewers with Thursday Night Football.
The NBA has a 14-game slate on Thanksgiving eve, with a marquee doubleheader on ESPN that features the Milwaukee Bucks at the Boston Celtics and the Golden State Warriors at the Phoenix Suns. The league also has a 10-game slate of in-season tournament games on Black Friday.
The NBA played games on Thanksgiving quite regularly until somewhat recently.
This will be the 12th straight season where no games were scheduled for the holiday. The last time NBA games were played on Thanksgiving was in 2010 with a two-game slate featuring the Washington Wizards at Atlanta Hawks and Sacramento Kings at Los Angeles Clippers.
If turkey and football go together, so too do Christmas trees and basketball.
But this season for the NBA, the NFL is going to be the Grinch who stole Christmas.
The NBA has long scheduled a slate of marquee games featuring its pillar teams and biggest stars on Christmas Day, which has become the league’s most visible day of the regular-season. This year’s schedule includes:
But this year, with Christmas Eve falling on a football Sunday, the NFL shifted some games to Christmas Day on Monday.
Football fans get a nice gift on Christmas Day this season: NFL football.
After a 10-game Sunday slate on Christmas Eve, the NFL will have a tripleheader on Monday.
It includes the Las Vegas Raiders at the Kansas City Chiefs at 1 p.m. ET, the New York Giants at the Philadelphia Eagles at 4:30 p.m. ET and the Baltimore Ravens at the San Francisco 49ers at 8:15 p.m. ET.
For those who work in the NBA offices and the networks that air the league’s Christmas Day games, this is like Santa Claus putting coal in their stockings.
