How Long Does A Game of Basketball Last?
If you’re a casual fan of the sport, one question to which you might think the answer is clear-cut is ‘how long is a basketball game?’.
That’s because the basic premise is so simple – it’s a game played between two teams, over two halves of equal duration. So the total length is simply that of both halves added together, plus the time added on for the interval, right?
Well, it isn’t that easy.
Part of the reason for this is the simple one that it’s a sport played by people of many different ages and levels of physical ability, and the length of the game has to be adaptable to take these factors into account.
Of course, another factor is that a huge amount of the basketball that’s played is done so on a very informal, loosely-organised level, where teams can simply agree between themselves how long a game will last.
To a certain extent, when a group of people are playing the game in this way, they can make up the rules over the length of the basketball game to suit themselves. The only common factor tends to be that the total length of the game is split into two halves, to allow all players some time to recuperate from their exertions in what’s usually a fast and physically demanding game.
A basketball game usually lasts around 2 hours, but given the nature of the sport and its timings, there is the very real chance that a game will last much longer – especially games which are played at a professional level or season finals.
Why Do Some Basketball Games Last Longer Than Others?
It’s abundantly clear that a group of youngsters having fun in the playground won’t have the same level of energy as a team of pro players who have trained for many hours with their only end being to participate in a full basketball match.
Taken to its farthest and highest-level extreme, professional games, such as those in America’s NBA, are considered an event in themselves. So while the competitive element of the on-court time spent trying to score more baskets than your opponent is the central element of this, many people also like to feel that they have gone to a game to witness something designed to make their whole evening far more memorable, and worthy of them spending sometimes large sums of money to go to see.
From a spectators’ (and venue operator’s) perspective, a basketball game also has to be something which people are comfortable to give their full attention to. They don’t want to have to get up and move around too often because they’re getting uncomfortable in their seats, or are starting to feel claustrophobic, for example.
Clearly, as soon as these kinds of things start to happen, people will lose out on the continuity of the game, and start finding it difficult to follow. Especially given that basketball is such a fast-paced sport, fans feeling that they are forced to miss a chunk of the action because they have to get up to visit the toilet or get a drink is something game organizers are conscious of doing everything they can to avoid.
This is one of the reasons why each team in a basketball game is allowed to call for the game to be temporarily halted for what are known as time-outs. While spectators can’t predict when this is likely to happen, it does at least offer them the prospect for having enough time for a quick visit to use the facilities!
We detail more fully the rules governing when teams are allowed to call time-outs and how long they last later in this article.
Why Is More Than One Clock Used In Basketball?
One thing that you certainly need to know about the timing of a basketball match is that, at any one time, there will be two clocks running. The main one is the match clock, which shows how long is left in total in the half, and/or the rest of the game.
But within the game, a second clock will also be running. This, known as the shot clock, tells the team in possession of the basketball how long it has left before it must either take a shot at the basket, or surrender the ball to their opponents.
A team is only allowed to keep the ball for so long in these circumstances. The limits are 30 seconds for a college-level game, and 24 seconds for the elite level, while what’s known as the ‘ten-second rule’ also stipulates that a team in possession of the ball in its own back court must pass the ball forwards into the front court, or the half of the court being defended by their opponents, within 10 seconds. Those 10 seconds are included in the total times allowed before a shot must be taken, and if the ball is not moved beyond the halfway line after this time, the team in possession concedes a foul known as a backcourt violation.
If a team exceeds the amount of time allowed on their shot clock in possession of the ball, they must immediately surrender possession to their opponents. The shot clock stops when the game referees declare the ball to be dead, for any reason.
The shot clock was introduced to the game in order to speed up the pace of the game, and to prevent teams from holding on to the ball and passing it among themselves repeatedly to deny their opponents possession and having a chance to score. So no matter how close the scores are in a game, the shot clock means that teams must make the most of every time when they have the ball.
All this complexity means that a basketball game often requires extra officials to be used, specifically to monitor the game clock and shot clock separately. This is in addition to the fact that while a game is usually officiated by one referee, at the highest level where a lot is at stake on the outcome, he or she may be supported by up to two other umpires.
What Are Time-Outs And How Do They Affect The Length Of A Basketball Game?
Time-outs are allowed under the rules of basketball in order to give players a chance to rest, give coaches the ability to discuss tactics and the progress of the game with their team, and provide players and coaches with a way to stop the clock as play gets ever more frantic towards the end of a game.
The rules governing who is allowed to call a time-out is another facet of the game which differs according to the seniority of the players. In high school or college basketball, the call can be made either by the players on the court or a team coach. However, in the NBA, only the players on the court at the time have the power to decide when to make the call.
The complexity of the official NBA rules concerning timeouts is one the principal reasons why many people find it difficult to answer the question of how long is a basketball game.
Those official rules allow for six full-length timeouts to be called in the course of a whole game. In addition to a single, 20-second timeout per half is allowed for each team.
The length of time that a full-length timeout lasts also varies, depending on when the timeout is called.
NBA rules allow a certain number of timeouts to be taken in each period for commercial purposes – basically for TV ad breaks.
Each NBA-mandated timeout lasts 100 seconds, while non-mandated timeouts last 60 seconds. For instance, in each of the first and third periods of a game, the NBA rules provide for two 100-second timeouts. The team calling the first and second timeouts automatically receives a 100-second timeout. But any timeouts called in addition to the two mandated timeouts will only last 60 seconds.
The second and fourth quarters each must have three mandated timeouts.
What Happens If Neither Team Calls A Timeout In A Period?
In this situation, the official scorer will call a timeout and assign it to the home team. Similarly, if the official scorer must take another mandated timeout, the timeout will be assigned to the opposing team.
In the fourth quarter, each team is limited to three full-length timeouts, and no more than two full-length timeouts can be taken in the last two minutes of the game.
If the game goes into overtime, both teams forfeit any timeouts which are unused from the main game, and each receive three new, 60-second timeouts. As with regular game play, neither team can take more than two in the last two minutes of a game.
What Happens If A Team Calls A Timeout When It Has Already Run Out Of Calls?
Here is another situation where the rules vary according to the seniority at which the game is being competed. In college basketball, the opposing team receives two free throws, but the ball is put back into play at the spot where the technical foul was called. In the case of the NBA, the same process is followed, but only one free throw is given.
Do The Timeout Rules Differ Between Men’s And Women’s Basketball?
In short, yes. The rules for timeouts in women’s professional basketball are broadly much simpler than those for the men at the elite level.
In this instance, in each half, each team is allowed a single, 120-second timeout, while in the first half they receive one additional 20-second timeout and in the second half they are given two additional 20-second timeouts. In overtime, each team can call a single 120-second timeout and an additional 20-second timeout. Additionally, each team may carry one 20-second timeout over from the second half if it has not already been used.
At high school level, however, there is no distinction between men and women when it comes to the timeout rules which are applied.
What Is Overtime In Basketball?
When a game is particularly closely contested, it can happen that both teams’ scores are level at the official game’s end, or time in the official parlance.
In this case, an extra period of five minutes, known as overtime, is played, in an attempt to decide a winner. This then becomes another factor which can vary the answer to the question of how long is a basketball game?.
If the game goes into overtime, both teams forfeit any timeouts which they have not used in the main game, and each receives three new, 60-second timeouts. As with regular game play, neither team can call more than two timeouts in the last two minutes of the overtime period.
The addition of up to six extra timeouts for a five-minute period of overtime is the final ingredient adding even more uncertainty to the answer to our original question. So if you thought that answer would be straightforward, as we’ve proven, you should probably think again.
How Long Is A Basketball Game In Wheelchair Basketball?
Again, the rules governing the duration of the game have been varied to take into account the different needs and physical capacities of the players.
The rules of the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation state that a game consists of four ten-minute quarters.
The wheelchair-based game features a 20-minute period before the start of each game which is part of the official game time, which is allowed in order for players to prepare themselves and get properly seated in their game chairs.
Between the first and second quarter and the third and fourth quarter, intervals of two minutes are allowed. Another two-minute break is allowed, if necessary, before the start of overtime.
Otherwise, as in the regular basketball game, a half-time period of 15 minutes is also allowed, and both game clocks and shot clocks are also used, as with the main rules detailed earlier.
