NBA Maintains Custom of Taking Break on Election Day

Celebrating Election Day with a clear schedule is a custom that the NBA intends to uphold.

Commissioner Adam Silver was urged by several prominent coaches to refrain from scheduling games on national Election Day every two years in order to allow employees, including league staff, team workers, coaches, and players, to exercise their right to vote. Silver strongly supported this approach and extended voter engagement efforts led by Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich.

\"The scheduling decision was made with the NBA family's focus on promoting nonpartisan civic engagement and encouraging fans to make a plan to vote during midterm elections,\" the league stated regarding the 2022 policy.

Bucks guard Damian Lillard reminded voters that their responsibility goes beyond just one day at the ballot box.

\"Pay attention. Get informed,\" he emphasized in a recorded interview aired by the NBA last week.

Spurs guard Chris Paul and Lakers forward LeBron James emerged as vocal leaders in the league's outreach to voters in 2020 as part of a concerted effort to shed light on initiatives addressing racial inequality. In a \"Get Out the Vote\" campaign ad that has been running during NBA games for the past two weeks, Paul stated, \"Voting is a team sport. Take people with you.\"

Rockets forward Jeff Green expressed the importance of elections as an opportunity to \"help put people who are less fortunate in a better position.\"

Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma stressed the significance of first-time voters understanding that they \"shape the future.\"

Since 2018, only four games have been played on Election Day in November.

Kerr was a speaker at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August. On Monday, he stated that Election Day should be viewed as significant and important, regardless of which side of the political spectrum a voter stands on.

\"Get out and vote tomorrow. Choose who you want to vote for,\" Kerr urged. \"But understand that these elections are legitimate. They're real. In my lifetime, there has never been an issue, not a single instance of anyone even questioning the legitimacy of the elections until the convicted felon who is running for office again decided to conjure up all this stuff to instill fear, which is a direct threat to our system and our democracy.\"