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Thanksgiving is one of the most celebrated holidays in America. It's traditionally celebrated on the third Thursday of November every year. The holiday is spent among family and loved ones. In over a decade, the NBA has not held a game on Thanksgiving day.
It has been 12 years since the NBA hasn’t had a game on Thanksgiving Day, since Nov. 24, 2011, when all 30 teams from both conferences were in action.
As it's a holiday, it might seem like a good opportunity for the league to make money by having important games scheduled. Since the league has carried out this tradition for over a decade and there has been no discussion on holding games on the day, there's little chance that it might change in the future. However, other sports like football hold their most important games on Thanksgiving Day.
It's worth knowing what prompted the league to hold off games on this particular day. The reason for the NBA not having games on Thanksgiving Day is all about the competition.
In terms of the calendar, the NFL gets much ahead of the NBA by Thanksgiving. In November, the NBA season is less than a month old, so having an important game two weeks after the opening game doesn't sound exciting.
Moreover, the NBA already takes more advantage of the rest of the holidays than the NFL. The NBA holds key games on Christmas, New Year and Martin Luther King Day.
During these holidays, the NBA takes all the focus from other leagues, so it's also out of respect that it gives the other leagues media attention.
Other holidays that NBA doesn’t hold games on
Although the NBA holds one of the most important games on Christmas, it doesn’t hold games on Dec. 24. On Christmas Day, the NBA schedules games between elite teams from around the league, which puts superstar players against each other.
After Christmas, the next time the league doesn’t hold games is the All-Star Weekend. This season, the All-Star weekend is scheduled from Feb. 16-18. Players selected by fans and fellow players participate in the All-Star games. Moreover, other players, selected by the league take part in other competitions.
During the All-Star weekend, the NBA organizes a 3-point contest, Dunk Contest, Skill competition and Rising Stars Challenge, also called the Rookie Game.
