Michael Jordan’s coach questions NBA for testing faith of Christians with playoff games

April 20th saw the league schedule four games as part of the 2025 NBA playoffs which meant fans could catch them on Easter Sunday.

Michael Jordan’s coach questions NBA for testing faith of Christians with playoff games

Michael Jordan's former coach Phil Jackson slams NBA playoffs schedule on Easter Sunday

The 2025 NBA playoffs started on April 19th, with the several teams heading into battle in game 1 of their first-round matchups. Then there were some games earlier tonight, which coincided with Easter Sunday. That meant, Christians had to take time out of their celebrations to catch their favorite players in action.

It is not uncommon for the league to schedule games on the night of religious festivals. For instance, Christmas Day games are a major draw and helped the NBA garner some impressive viewership numbers. Those numbers were pale when compared to what the NFL garnered with their schedule, but it was still a win.

YouTube video

The logic behind those numbers is that the leagues know people will be with their families during such occasions. There may also be some who spend time with friends. In such gatherings, sporting events play a major part to provide entertainment. But legendary head coach Phil Jackson does not agree with that logic.

Again the NBA tests faith by playing multiple games on Christmas and Easter…sacred days.

Phil Jackson said

Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant‘s coach believes the NBA is testing the faith of Christians. For now, they might be coming out winners especially when looking at viewership ratings. But he believes this could backfire if people end up wanting to spend time with their loved ones.

The NBA did not explicitly schedule playoff games to coincide with Easter. It was the timing of how teams would finish both the regular season as well as the play-in tournament that dictated the schedule. But Phil Jackson believes that could have been avoided.

Will NBA listen to Phil Jackson and change avoid Easter Sunday?

This Easter Sunday, the NHL scheduled three playoff games of their own. That means even they could not get away from the fact that fans would tune in to watch games on the day of a religious celebration. Their logic was backed up by impressive ratings.

The NBA knows that as well and considering how they have been struggling with declining ratings, they might not want to give up a chance to improve them. Therefore, unless they see a decline in ratings on holidays, they could continue scheduling important games.

With Easter Sunday, the situation is not that straightforward. The dates keep changing as per who the Vatican decides. For instance, the 2026 NBA playoffs will not start until after Easter is over. That means, with regular season games winding down, there is a chance fans might not be interested in games where star players do not play.

Other than that, the NBA or any other league for that matter will likely ignore what Phil Jackson and other critics say. Viewership means money. This means nothing will stop a league where its media partners are paying billions hoping to garner viewers.

NBA did a good job scheduling Easter Sunday games

When the NBA scheduled its Christmas Day games, they focused on star studded teams. They believed that giving the fans players they wanted to watch was the best way to garner high ratings. All the league’s big stars played, most notably, the final game which featured LeBron James and Steph Curry.

But on Easter Sunday, the NBA did not have the luxury of just pitting big market teams against each other. This is the first round of the playoffs, which means lower ranked teams are playing higher ranked teams.

This time, the league’s four top teams were part of the Easter Sunday schedule. Excepting the Boston Celtics, none of those teams can be considered to be major market franchises. They faced the bottom four playoff teams from each conference. Again unsurprisingly, two were small market teams.

The only exceptions were the Miami Heat and the Golden State Warriors. The Heat may have lost their shine since Jimmy Butler moved to play alongside Steph Curry. This means small market teams were thrust into the spotlight along with two major market teams.