In an effort to encourage voter turnout across the nation, the National Basketball Association announced that games will not be scheduled on Election Day, Nov. 8.
"The scheduling decision came out of the NBA family's focus on promoting nonpartisan civic engagement and encouraging fans to make a plan to vote during midterm elections," a statement from the league said.
Several key NBA players have continued to push for voter turnout over the last decade, one of the most notable being Lakers forward LeBron James.
During the 2020 election, More than a Vote, a nonprofit co-founded by James, called on the NBA, NFL, NHL and other sports leagues to offer up their venues as voting arenas, The Associated Press reported at the time.
Years prior, James was at the center of the "shut up and dribble" controversy in which he was told to stop sharing his political opinions and instead play basketball by Fox News' Laura Ingram.
Now, the NBA is deciding to stop all dribbling on Election Day, and teams will work in the months before to help inform fans and voters about the process.
"Over the next few months, teams will distribute information on their state's voting process and voter registration deadlines and are encouraging everyone to communicate this information with families and friends to ensure they all have a plan," the NBA said.
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