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15 things to know about Monday's 15-game night

One night. Every team. A look at some of the most intriguing and interesting facets of a 15-game Monday.

Matthew Petersen

The Suns visit the Sixers on Nov. 7 as one of the marquee matchups on a 15-game night.

For every action, there is a reaction. The NBA’s decision to hold no games on U.S. Election Day (Nov. 8) spawned the opposite effect one day earlier: a night in which every team in the league would take the court.

The basketball feast precedes a voluntary famine meant to encourage anyone and everyone of age and citizenship to cast their ballots. That emphasis was brought to light during the bubble games in Orlando ahead of the 2020 elections, with warmup shirts and even the backs of jerseys sporting the word “vote.”

If that is the four-letter word for Nov. 8, “hoop” might be appropriate for Nov. 7, because that night will be dominated by the maximum amount of NBA action. Here’s a look at some of the best storylines and notes heading into the 30-team free-for-all.

1. The 15-minute stagger

A normal heavy NBA slate sees a block of games start at or around 7 p.m., with more games commencing an hour or two later, capped off by a 10 or 10:30 p.m. grouping.

Monday, however, will see a steady downpour of basketball that sees a new game tip off every 15 minutes. About six minutes into whatever game you happened to start watching, another one will be getting under way.

Here’s the full schedule*:

* = All times Eastern

2. CrunchTime Coverage

Want to catch all the action but afraid of missing something while switching through your League Pass feeds? NBA CrunchTime will have you covered with live look-ins on every game, especially in the closing minutes of tightly contested finishes. Tune in to the live stream on the NBA app beginning at 9 p.m. ET.

3. League’s depth on full display

Last year’s All-Star and All-NBA teams made for agonizing selections, and that wasn’t including the injured absences of Kawhi Leonard, Zion Williamson, Jamal Murray and others.

Entering Monday night, 62 players with All-Star credentials on their career resumes will be rostered, from 18-time honoree LeBron James to recent first-timers such as Ja Morant and Andrew Wiggins.

4. A historic audience

Fifteen home arenas will be hosting games Monday night. Attending one of them would make you a part of a potential league-wide, in-person attendance of over 285,000 fans. That’s more than four times the single-game record of 62,046 set at the Georgia Dome when the Atlanta Hawks hosted Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls on March 27, 1998.

5. Top rookies take court early

No. 1 overall pick Paolo Banchero of the Orlando Magic has begun the season in historic fashion, becoming just the seventh rookie in league history to score 20 points or more in his first five career games. His debut performance was the first 25-point, five-rebound, five-assist effort by a first-year player since LeBron James.

Magic rookie Paolo Banchero has impressed so far in his NBA career.

Even with those numbers, Banchero is receiving early Kia Rookie of the Year competition from an unexpected source. Sixth overall pick Bennedict Mathurin has shown himself to be an NBA-ready scoring machine. The Pacers’ rookie sixth man has put up double figure points in every one of his games, including a trio of performances exceeding 25 points.

Banchero (7:15 p.m.) and Mathurin (7:45 p.m.) each take the floor within the first hour of Monday’s packed schedule.

6. Will Booker light up Philly again?

A single game by Zion Williamson, and the career averages of Michael Jordan, Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain. Those are the only examples of players who have averaged more points against the Philadelphia 76ers than Devin Booker, who has made the practice of scorching the Sixers nearly routine.

Phoenix’s three-time All-Star enters Monday having averaged 29.7 points in 14 career games against Philadelphia, and has not lost to the Sixers since Jan. 2, 2019.

7. Playoff flashback

Between interconference games and non-playoff opponents, Bucks-Hawks is the only matchup that features recent playoff history. The two teams squared off in the Eastern Conference finals in 2021, with Milwaukee emerging victorious in six games.

Each team has seen some changes since. The Hawks now boast an All-Star backcourt with the pairing of Dejounte Murray and Trae Young. The Bucks, meanwhile, have been relying on new depth while waiting for Khris Middleton’s return from wrist surgery.

8. Portland’s game-day trail

The Blazers drew the short straw for the farthest trip on this all-hoops day. Portland will make a league-long seven-hour, 2,700-mile flight to South Beach to take on the Heat.

The game will pit two of the more consistent All-NBA talents of the last decade (Damian Lillard and Jimmy Butler) as well as two up-and-coming young guards (Portland’s Anfernee Simons and Miami’s Tyler Herro).

9. Familiar faces

A handful of player-team reunions will take place as well. Bulls All-Star DeMar DeRozan faces off against the Toronto Raptors franchise he helped make synonymous with the playoffs. Surging Grizzlies forward Desmond Bane takes on the same Celtics team that traded him on Draft night. Jordan Clarkson leads the surprising Jazz against one of his old teams, the Lakers. And Derrick Rose returns to Minnesota, where his injury-derailed career found the feel-good restart that has kept him playing ever since.

10. LeBron’s chase continues

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record has stood for nearly four decades. Barring injury, LeBron James is going to pass it this season. The Lakers’ star forward inches ever closer with every game, a buildup to an achievement few believed was possible following Abdul-Jabbar’s combination of star production, consistency and longevity. Entering Monday’s game against the Jazz, James is 1,106 points behind Abdul-Jabbar.

11. Luka vs. Durant

Doncic has been on an otherwordly tear to start the season. The three-time All-Star scored more than 30 points in each of the season’s first eight games, a feat matched only by Wilt Chamberlain.

Durant, meanwhile, has hardly seen his hallmark scoring ability blunted by the Nets’ overall struggles. The 12-time All-Star is putting up his highest points per game average (31.5 ppg, which ranks 3rd) since his MVP and scoring-title season in 2013-14 (when he logged a league-best 32 ppg).

12. Tatum vs. Morant

Silky smooth shooting meets electric air defiance in this clash of under-25 star power. Neither the defending Eastern champion Celtics nor the quickly rising Grizzlies got off to the starts they wanted. This is a high-profile chance for each of them to earn a statement win against a dynamic opponent.

Jayson Tatum and Ja Morant are 2 of the NBA’s brightest young stars.

13. A tale of two California teams

The Warriors built a championship dynasty, one still active after last season’s title, via the Draft. The Kings have enjoyed many more high Draft picks, yet are mired in the longest playoff drought among the four major sports leagues in the United States.

Those resumes will go head-to-head on Monday. Golden State will roll out home-grown success stories Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Jordan Poole.

The Kings, meanwhile, are still searching for their first All-Star not named DeMarcus Cousins since 2004.

14. Size and starters vs. wings and wingspan

The early returns of the most stunning trade of the offseason have been stellar. Donovan Mitchell, alongside the talents of Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, has Cleveland looking like a contender. The fit could not appear more seamless for Mitchell nor more energizing for the Cavs, who always seemed one go-to scorer short against title-hopeful teams last season.

Cleveland’s top-heavy, dual big-man look will get quite the litmus test against the LA Clippers, a team that really only plays one true center (Ivica Zubac). The Clippers’ stable of rangy defenders will no doubt try to stymie the Cavs’ short backcourt. Cleveland will attempt to counter inside, where L.A. is weakest.

15. All hands on deck

It’s not just the teams, arena staff and fans that will turn out en masse. Fifteen games mean 60 referees on site (three plus one alternate per game). That doesn’t include the replay center, which will need enough eyes on a continuous and simultaneous stream of basketball broadcasts.

Then there’s the highlight crews, digital teams and all the behind-the-scenes work that goes into an entire league going all-out in roughly a six-hour span.

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