NBA
Why are there no NBA games today, Wednesday Dec. 18?
Election Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve are common NBA-free days. But there’s no basketball scheduled this midweek either, to the confusion of some.
We’ve long been used to NBA games coming thick and fast, with barely any respite for players, coaches and fans alike. Which makes it all the more surprising there are no matchups scheduled this Wednesday (December 18).
Which days have no NBA games?
We don’t have to cast our minds back far for the last NBA-free days. No games were played on Election Day (November 5) or on Thanksgiving (November 28), which is common practice. That is also the case for Christmas Eve, when only two games have ever been played, and the day of the NCAA men’s basketball national title game.
Christmas Day, on the other hand, is one of the most eagerly-anticipated matchdays on the calendar, which has drawn criticism from players in the past, including LeBron James. “If you ask any player in the league, we’d rather be home with our families,” the Lakers icon said in 2010.
This year, there are also no games on Wednesday, December 18, which appears to have caught plenty of fans by surprise, if social media is anything to go by.
NBA Cup final affects regular season schedule
The NBA hasn’t given any official reason for the day off, but it is believed to be related to the 2024 NBA Cup, which came to a conclusion on Tuesday, December 17.
The league only discovered which two teams - the Bucks and the Thunder - would be contesting Tuesday’s final on Saturday (December 14), so it’s reasonable to assume they left the following day free to avoid scheduling games on back-to-back days for either of the two finalists, or having to reschedule, which would arguably have been even worse.
As a result, the NBA has gone from feast to famine, with six games on Monday alone followed by just one on Tuesday and Wednesday combined. However, with 13 games scheduled on Thursday, we don’t have too long to wait to get back into the swing of things.
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