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Exercise Daily – How long is basketball game? you may ask this question or may be someone else has asked you or might be it is your son’s or daughter’s basketball match, and you want to be their cheerleader. But the problem is that you do not know how much time you should clear up from your schedule.
This article will solve that problem for you. I am going to explore the timeframe of all famous levels of basketball.
Generally, the actual playing time of a basketball game is either 40 or 48 minutes. But the game can last for as long as 2 hours.
If you want to know how a 40 or 48-minute game can turn into 2 hours game, keep on reading as I breakdown the components which add to this game time.
LONGEST BASKETBALL GAME
Since you asked, “how long is basketball game?” I am just going to throw a fun fact about the longest basketball game ever. Indianapolis Olympians vs. Rochester Royals was the longest game in the history of the NBA. The game went on for six overtimes. It took about 78 minutes until Indianapolis Olympians came out victorious, with the final score of 75-73. It has been 70 years since then, but the record is still unbroken.
FACTORS WHICH DETERMINE THE LENGTH OF THE GAME
The answer to “how long is basketball game?” could have just easily been 40-minute or 48-minute. But at any level of competition, certain factors prolong the game’s duration, such as fouls, halftime, overtime, timeouts, levels of competition, etc. Let’s discuss each of these factors individually.
LEVEL OF COMPETITION
Playing time differs according to the level of competition. Not only the level but the gender also plays a role in determining playing time. Some games are divided into quarters, while others into halves. The duration of each quarter is also different.
WHAT IS A FOUL?
A foul is a severe violation of a rule. It usually involves illegal contact with the opponent. Or any behavior that is contrary to the spirit of the game and sportsmanship. Until the referee has done reviewing and reporting the foul, the game clock stops.
WHAT IS HALFTIME?
Halftime is a crucial part of the game. It happens, you guessed it right, halfway through the game. It gives the teams a chance to strategize and come back stronger. The length of the halftime varies from 10 minutes to 15 minutes.
WHAT IS A TIMEOUT?
Timeouts are little 1-2 minutes breaks that stop the game clock. Each team is allowed a certain number of timeouts that differ from league to league. Players, or coaches, can call timeout according to the game rules to rest, strategize, or simply break the opponent team’s momentum.
WHAT IS OVERTIME?
Overtime is a necessary evil. What separates basketball from other mainstream sports is that there cannot be a tie. There must be a winner at the end of a basketball game. Overtime is to decide the winning team if both teams have equal points at the end of the play. Overtime is usually one-half of the standard quarter-time (4-5 minutes)
PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL GAME
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION (NBA)
NBA is the most popular basketball in the world. Founded in 1946, it has been growing ever since. The revenue it generates speaks for its popularity. And in that regard, it is the third wealthiest league globally, just lagging behind the National Football league and Major League baseball.
REGULATION TIME
When it comes to how long is basketball game. NBA tops the list. It has a gameplay of 48 minutes. And they are divided into four quarters. And each quarter of an NBA game is 12 minutes long.
Thelength of NBA game averagesaround 2 to 2 and a half hours. You may wonder if the actual playing time is 48 minutes, then how does it get 2 hours long? As I said, things like foul, timeouts, substitution, halftime, and overtime are responsible for extending this playtime.
HALFTIME
Since the NBA is divided into four quarters, the second quarter is followed by a 15 min break. This halftime adds 15 minutes to the actual gameplay of 48 minutes. The halftime gives players a much-needed break to catch their breaths and strategize.
TIMEOUT
In the NBA league, each team can take seven timeouts throughout the game. Each timeout is 1 minute, 15 seconds long. 2 timeouts per quarter are mandatory. The referee charges the home team if no team has taken a timeout before 6:59. So, it’s not like coaches or players are deliberately extending the game time. They don’t have a choice.
Moreover, the number of timeouts reduce to four in the fourth quarter. Even in the overtime, which adds five more minutes to the game, each team has 2 timeouts. If both teams use their 7 timeouts, this alone would add around 16 minutes to the actual 48 minutes game.
FOULS
When a foul is committed, the referee needs to report it. The time referee takes to report the foul can range anywhere from 45 seconds to 1 minute. The average number of fouls in an NBA game is 41. So, worst-case scenario, fouls alone can add 41 minutes to the game time.
OVERTIME
A game of basketball requires a winner. Always. And that is where overtime saves the day. 5 minutes are granted if the scores are level after regulation time. Then there will be a never-ending addition of overtime until one team beats the other. Each team is also given two timeouts during overtime.
TIME FRAME
All these factors extend the playing time of NBA game to 2 or 2.5 hours.
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION (WNBA)
WNBA is an all-women version of the NBA. Founded in 1996, WNBA has made a name for itself. It has been struggling to get out of NBA’s shadow.
REGULATION TIME
A WNBA game is also divided into four quarters. But, unlike NBA, each quarter is only 10 minutes long. So the actual game should be 40 minutes long. Does that make it shorter than NBA? Yes, and no. The game can still last for as long as 2 hours.
HALFTIME
WNBA follows its parent organization, NBA, in many areas. One of those areas happens to be halftime. There is a 15 minutes halftime between the second and the third quarter.
TIMEOUT
The duration and number of timeouts also differ. Each timeout in a WNBA game is 2 minutes long. Teams also get a 30-second timeout to substitute a disqualified or tired player.
OVERTIME
WNBA also has the concept of overtime to decide the winner in case of a tie. Overtime in a WNBA match is 5-minute long. If scores are level at the end of the 4th quarter, 5 minutes are added, and the quarter continues.
TIME FRAME
Despite having short quarters, it still takes as much time as an NBA game to complete.
INTERNATIONAL BASKETBALL GAME
The International Basketball Federation, or FIBA, governs the game of basketball globally. It also sets the rule for international matches as well as FIBA world cup matches.
PLAYING TIME
WNBA follows the FIBA guidelines in terms of playing time. An international match consists of 4 quarters, with each quarter being of 10 minutes. Moreover, at least a 2-minute gap occurs when transitioning from 1st to 2nd and 3rd to 4th quarters. However, a shorter duration also reduces the chances of a fourth-quarter comeback.
HALFTIME
The length of halftime, even in an international match, is15 minutes.
TIMEOUT
FIBA’s timeout rules and regulations are significantly different than NBA’s. Like, there is no such thing as a mandatory timeout in an international game. So, that is a relief. Each timeout lasts for about 1 minute. And only the coach can call a timeout. But a coach cannot call a timeout in the middle of the game. A timeout can only be called if the game is already stopped for some reason. Only one timeout can be called in overtime.
OVERTIME
The duration of overtime is common in almost all types of basketball games. Since the game must go on until a winner is decided, 5 minutes of overtime are added to ensure a winner.
TIME FRAME
International matches can take about 2 hours of your time.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL GAME
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) governs a lot of college sports, including basketball. Rules and regulations set by NCCA are followed, with slight variations, in colleges all over the states.
MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME
A college-level basketball game of men’s is different than all the types I’ve described so far. It is divided into two halves instead of four quarters. Each half of a men’s college basketball game is 20 minutes long, making the actual playing time 40 minutes.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL GAME
Women’s college basketball and WNBA follow the same set of rules when it comes to actual playing time. Play is divided into four quarters, with each quarter being 10 minutes long. The duration of men’s and women’s college basketball games is identical; it is just the division of play that’s different.
HALFTIME
Halftime is common in both men’s and women’s college games. In the men’s game, there’s a 15 minutes halftime between the first and second halves. In the women’s game, a 15 minutes halftime follows after the end of the second quarter.
TIMEOUT
In a college basketball game, each team is only allowed to have 4 timeouts. And each timeout is 75 seconds long. The length and the number of timeouts differ for televised and non-televised games.
OVERTIME
The overtime is also identical in games of both genders. Addition of five minutesto the last half or last quarter of the game until the tie breaks. And one team leads the scoreboard.
TIME FRAME
College basketball game is also a bit time-consuming. It can also take about 2 hours to complete.
HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL GAME
PLAYING TIME
So far, the question has been, “how long is basketball game?” Let us see how short it can be. A high school basketball game is the shortest one. It follows the same 4 quarters format as in NBA, WNBA, or FIBA. But it’s the length of these quarters that makes all the difference. Each quarter is 8 minutes long, which makes the actual playing time only 32 minutes.
HALFTIME
Everything seems to reduce in time in high school basketball. Halftime is no different. The end of the second quarter is the beginning of halftime. And halftime in a high school game only lasts for 10 minutes tops.
TIMEOUT
High school basketball also has a different set of timeout rules. Each time is given a total of 5 timeouts. Out of 5 timeouts, three of them are 60 seconds long, while two are 30-second timeouts. And both the players and the coaches can request a timeout at any point of the game.
OVERTIME
Unlike the abovementioned professional leagues and international matches, a high school basketball game has shorter overtime. If a high school basketball game is tied, overtime is added until one team finally emerges victorious. And the length of the overtime being 4 minutes.
TIME FRAME
As I said, this is the shortest basketball format. You will be free in one to one and a half hour.
TAKEAWAY
So, how long is basketball game? There is no correct answer to that. The major takeaway is that it is not the game itself that’s longer. But little things, such as fouls, timeouts, halftime, etc., add up to make it so. The level of competition is also a determining factor of game time.
What is unique about basketball is that there is no concept of a tie. One team must win. In a basketball game, the only sure thing is that there will always be a winner. So, it will be right to say that the winner is chosen at the cost of time.
