Previously, the NBA required teams to play the Star-Spangled Banner ahead of games but the league gave teams the permission to drop the ritual this season. The league said it had instructed teams 'to run their pregame operations as they see fit' due to 'the unique circumstances this season'. NBA rules require players to stand for the anthem, but commissioner Adam Silver has relaxed that rule following the nationwide Black Lives Matter protests which erupted after the police killing of George Floyd last year.