NBA announces huge changes to schedule because of presidential election with mega live TV plans set for previous day
THE NBA continues its efforts to encourage civic engagement, scheduling no games on 2024 Election Day for the third straight year.
The league will make up for no live action with a massive slate of games the following day.
None of the NBA teams will play on the day of the 2024 Presidential election when the voters are set to cast a vote for either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump on Tuesday, November 5.
The initiative aims to encourage voters to participate in the civic process and head to the ballot boxes.
Instead, the entire league will get on the court the previous day, Monday, November 4.
The first game of the night, a clash between the Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers, will tip off at 7 pm ET.
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The subsequent 14 matchups will begin 15 minutes apart.
The NBA first introduced the schedule change in 2022.
"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 at the time.
It was an unprecedented move, the executive director of the NBA's social justice coalition said.
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"It’s unusual. We don’t usually change the schedule for an external event," he said two years ago.
"But voting and Election Day are obviously unique and incredibly important to our democracy."
Vote.org, an organization that strives to make voting accessible for all Americans, lauded the decision.
"The NBA is creating a culture of political participation, which extends not only to its athletes but to fans as well," the nonprofit's CEO Andrea Hailey said.
"Players, coaches, event staff, and fans all deserve to have the time and space to make their voices heard at the ballot box.
"The league is setting an important precedent that I hope other businesses and leagues will follow."
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The NBA released the full 2024-25 schedule on Thursday.
It saw some of the teams that thrived in the previous campaign rewarded with increasing their number of nationally televised games.
The Minnesota Timberwolves received the biggest boost, having an extra 15 national TV games added to the schedule compared to 2023-24, taking the total to 25.
The Oklahoma City Thunder ranked second with an increase of 12 matchups aired across the country (25 in total) and the New York Knicks third (nine more, 34 in total).
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The Los Angeles Lakers will be the most nationally shown team in the NBA again.
LeBron James' Lakers will play 39 times in front of a national audience, placing ahead of the Golden State Warriors (36), and the Knicks and Boston Celtics (34).