The NBA will return on Wednesday, Nov. 4, with a 14-game slate featuring 28 teams, after leaving Tuesday, Nov. 3, clear of games for Election Day in the United States. The NBA said no games were scheduled for Election Day so fans and the wider basketball community could make a plan to vote and take part in the civic process. All 30 teams played on Monday, Nov. 2, the day before Election Day, and the league resumes with games across the country on Wednesday night.
The pause was planned before the season. In a press release in August, the NBA wrote: "No games have been scheduled for Election Day (Tuesday, Nov. 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. All 30 teams will be in action on the day before Election Day (Monday, Nov. 2)." The league has used its website to point fans to voting information and to urge people to make voting plans.
How the NBA Election Day pause started
The NBA first left Election Day clear in 2022, during the midterm elections that year, and the move was documented in the NBA 2022-23 Social Impact Report. Since then, the league has applied the pause in later years, though not in every year in the same way. For 2026, the NBA again chose a full pause on the day of the midterm elections, rather than scheduling games around voting hours.
The choice fits a wider pattern in the league schedule. The NBA also leaves Thanksgiving clear, to avoid clashing with the NFL's holiday football slate, and it leaves Christmas Eve clear, while scheduling five games on Christmas Day. The Election Day pause removes a full night of games from the calendar in the second week of the season.
For fans, the practical effect was a one-night gap, after a full night of games on Monday, when all 30 teams played, and before a busy Wednesday, when 28 of the 30 teams return to the court.
What the NBA schedule looks like on Nov. 4
The Wednesday slate opens with Philadelphia at Detroit at 7 p.m. ET and Atlanta at Washington at 7 p.m. ET, followed by Milwaukee at Boston at 7:30 p.m. ET, Charlotte at Brooklyn at 7:30 p.m. ET and Chicago at New York at 7:30 p.m. ET. The national television windows are Philadelphia at Detroit at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN, and Dallas at San Antonio at 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
The rest of the night runs through the western time zones. Indiana plays at Memphis at 8 p.m. ET, Utah plays at New Orleans at 8 p.m. ET, Cleveland plays at Oklahoma City at 8 p.m. ET, Minnesota plays at Houston at 8:30 p.m. ET, Toronto plays at Denver at 9 p.m. ET, and Portland plays at Phoenix at 9 p.m. ET. The late games are the Los Angeles Lakers at Sacramento at 10 p.m. ET, and Miami at the Los Angeles Clippers at 10:30 p.m. ET.
Injury news also shaped the Wednesday slate. Atlanta forward Jalen Johnson was listed as questionable with an ankle injury, Boston guard Payton Pritchard was listed as questionable with a shoulder injury, and Boston forward Jayson Tatum was listed for rest. Toronto center Jakob Poeltl was out against Denver with a shoulder injury, Memphis guard Scotty Pippen Jr. was out against Indiana with a back injury, and Dallas guard Max Christie was out against San Antonio with a hip injury.
Why the NBA return matters for the early season
The season is two weeks old, and the early standings are starting to take shape. Reports on Nov. 4 listed Boston at 10-2 and Denver at 9-3 after 12 games, with Boston holding the best winning percentage in the league at .833. The MVP race has also taken an early form, with Luka Doncic listed at the top of one Nov. 3 ladder after averaging 38.3 points, 8.1 assists and 8.0 rebounds per game, ahead of Stephen Curry, Tyrese Maxey, Victor Wembanyama and Cooper Flagg.
The Election Day pause did not change any of those standings. The return on Nov. 4 puts 28 teams back on the court in one night, with two national television games. The next scheduled break in the calendar is Thanksgiving, when the league will again leave the day clear, before returning to a nine-game slate on Nov. 25.