Fans checking for a Tuesday night game will find an empty NBA schedule, as the league left November 3 blank for the United States midterm elections and urged fans, players and teams to make a plan to vote instead of watching basketball.
Voting, not basketball, takes priority for one night because evening games would clash directly with in-person voting hours, when many voters cast ballots after work and polling places begin closing on the East Coast.
No games have been scheduled for Election Day, Tuesday, November 3, as the league will encourage fans and the broader NBA community to make a plan to vote and to participate in the civic process, the NBA said when it released its 2026-27 schedule in August.
All 30 teams played the night before instead, on Monday, November 2, as part of the league’s civic engagement push. Players wore shirts marked “VOTE” across the chest at each of Monday’s 15 games, according to USA Today.
Fans looking for voting help can use the league’s online resources, which point to polling places, ballot information and a check of voter registration status, USA Today reported.
Polls began closing on the East Coast at 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday, with many more closing at 7 p.m. ET, according to USA Today, a window that would have overlapped with a normal evening tip-off schedule.
Tuesday’s blank schedule is the fourth time in five years that the NBA has avoided games on Election Day, Sports Business Journal reported. The league first kept Election Day free of games in November 2022, continued the practice in 2023 and 2024, and then scheduled games on Election Day in 2025 before bringing the pause back this season.
Other sports did not follow the same pattern on Tuesday. Sports Business Journal, citing NBC Sports Philadelphia, reported 11 NHL games on Tuesday, along with dozens of men’s and women’s college basketball games.
Confirmed so far is a one-night pause only. Play resumes in full on Wednesday, November 4, with 14 games involving 28 teams, according to the league’s schedule reports.
| Time (ET) | Game | Channel |
|---|---|---|
| 7:00 p.m. | Philadelphia 76ers at Detroit Pistons | ESPN |
| 9:30 p.m. | Dallas Mavericks at San Antonio Spurs | ESPN |
No result, standings change or playoff implication follows from Tuesday itself, because no game was played. The next known date on the calendar is Wednesday, November 4, when the 76ers visit the Pistons at 7:00 p.m. ET and the Mavericks visit the Spurs at 9:30 p.m. ET, both on ESPN.
