Why There Are No NBA Games On November 28

The NBA will have no games on broadcast on November 28, one of the few days in the NBA season where the league won't schedule a single game. The reason behind this is historic, as the league chooses not to host games on Thanksgiving. 

Thanksgiving isn't the only day with no NBA games on the slate, as the league already took a no-game day earlier this month on account of Election Day (November 5). The league will also have no games on December 24 on account of Christmas Eve. and April 7, 2025, for the final of the men's college basketball tournament. 

The NBA last held Thanksgiving games in 2010 but the games were scrapped after the 2011 NBA lockout, as the 2011-12 NBA season did not begin until Christmas. No games were held in November that year, and since then the league hasn't made a Thanksgiving slate of games. 

The league compensates for these off days in the middle of the season by giving fans action-packed nights of basketball prior to and after such events. Last night saw the NBA host 14 games ahead of the Thanksgiving day break and will have a slate of 10 games tomorrow night as part of a Black Friday special. 

The Black Friday games will be a part of the Emirates NBA Cup, with marquee franchises such as the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, and Miami Heat, among others having scheduled games for Friday night.

Even the Election night absence had the NBA host a 15-game slate the night before where games tipped off every 15 minutes for hours of nonstop basketball action. Even the Christmas Eve break will be followed up with the NBA's biggest regular season night of the year - the Christmas Day Games. 

This year's Christmas slate will feature the biggest names in the NBA competing and is something the NBA promotes heavily to attract even casual fans to watch a game.

In years past, it seemed to be an American sporting tradition that Thanksgiving would be for the NFL due to their special programming around the festival, while the NBA would have everyone's attention during Christmas. 

The NFL bucked that trend by introducing a Christmas Game a few seasons ago, hurting the NBA's status as the only sport being contested on Christmas. This year's NFL Christmas Game will feature Beyonce as the featured halftime performer while the NBA's approach to their Christmas slate is still the same as it has been for years. 

The league hasn't decided to challenge the NFL on Thanksgiving night after the football league started hosting games on Christmas. This could be because the NFL is still the most popular sports league in America and fans anyway would focus on their games over the NBA.