NBA players often want a well-deserved break from their intense basketball schedules. And Thanksgiving Day is a time for them to take a break and spend time with those for whom they are grateful. We often wonder why the NBA is not on Christmas or New Years holiday, but especially on Thanksgiving Day.
And there are several possible reasons why this could be the case. But the most commonly accepted thing is that basketball is just not the sport of this holiday. It’s more like American football, and so the NFL games are stacked on this day. As opposed to any NBA game played that day.
The real history of Thanksgiving Day off for the NBA
Now, Thanksgiving NBA games are played one day before Thanksgiving day itself. So they book a few top-notch NFL games for Thanksgiving Day. This year, they saved the iconic Lions vs Bears game for Thanksgiving Day. A classic match that has already been played 13 times on Thanksgiving.
According to ESPN Insider Bobby Marks, until 2005, the NBA hosted Thanksgiving games. Since there were no NFL games at night. However, over time, American culture began to associate football with this holiday. Families began to build traditions around Thanksgiving Day soccer games, and big business took note.
Therefore, the NBA finally stopped booking games for this holiday because they weren’t getting good grades on Thanksgiving Day.
What does this mean for the league?
It’s possible the NBA might want to give its players a break, given that the NBA’s Christmas Day schedule is always quite busy. After a month and a half of non-stop play, a day of rest is highly appreciated by the best teams in the league.
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