How Long Does an NBA Game Last?

The average NBA game lasts around two and a half hours. However, there are a number of factors that can influence the length of an NBA game.

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The Length of an NBA Game

The length of an NBA game is 48 minutes, split into four 12 minute quarters. There are mandatory time-outs at the first dead ball under 7:59 of each quarter, and at the first dead ball under 2:59 of the fourth quarter. There are also “television time-outs” which are 2 minutes long and occur at the first dead ball under 8:59 of each quarter.

The Four Quarters

An NBA game consists of four 12-minute quarters, for a total of 48 minutes of play. If the score is tied at the end of regulation, the teams will play one or more 5-minute overtime periods to determine a winner. In the playoffs, each team is allowed two timeouts per game, while each team is only allowed one timeout per half during the regular season.

The Length of a Quarter

Each quarter in an NBA game lasts 12 minutes. There is a short break between each quarter, and a longer break at halftime.

The game clock stops when:
-the ball goes out of bounds
-a foul is called
-a player scores
-there is a timeout called by either team.

The clock starts again when the referee gives the ball to a player on the court. If the team that did not commit the foul has possession of the ball, they get an extra free throw attempt.

The Timeouts

An NBA game consists of four 12-minute quarters, for a total of 48 minutes of play. However, the game clock does not stop during the entire game. There are a few ways that the clock can be stopped. One way is when the officials call a timeout. There are also a few other ways that the clock can be stopped.

TV Timeouts

There are 6 mandatory TV timeouts in every NBA game, which fall at the first deadball under the following conditions:
-Time remaining in the 1st and 3rd quarters: under 5 minutes
-Time remaining in the 2nd and 4th quarters: under 5 minutes, and not in the final 2 minutes of the game
-There is a 2 minute mandatory timeout at halftime

20-Second Timeouts

Each team is allowed seven 20-second timeouts per game, which can be used at any point during regulation or overtime. There is also one 20-second timeout available to each team during each overtime period. Timeouts can be called by either head coach or by a player on the court, but each team is only allowed to call two timeouts in the final two minutes of regulation or overtime.

Timeouts can be carries over from one period to the next, so if a team doesn’t use all of its timeouts in the first half, it can use them in the second half. However, any timeouts that are not used in an overtime period will be lost.

8-minute Timeouts

As you know, each team is allowed a maximum of six timeouts per game. But there are also two mandatory timeouts that are taken at the first dead ball under eight minutes in each half. These are called 8-minute timeouts, and they exist to allow television networks to show commercials.

The NBA instituted 8-minute timeouts during the 2015-16 season in an effort to reduce the length of games. Prior to that season, there were only four mandatory timeouts per game — two 20-second timeouts in each half, plus two full 45-second timeouts in the second half (for a total of six).

The new rule reduced the number of mandatory timeouts from four to two, but it also increased the length of each timeout from 20 or 45 seconds to 8 minutes. That might not sound like a big change, but it actually had a pretty significant impact on the length of games.

According to an analysis by FiveThirtyEight, the average NBA game was about 2 minutes shorter during the 2015-16 season than it was during the 2014-15 season — largely because of the new 8-minute timeout rule.

So if you’re wondering how long an NBA game lasts, it’s usually somewhere around 2 hours and 15 minutes (give or take a few minutes). But if you’re really interested in learning all the nitty-gritty details about timings and rules, we recommend checking out the official NBA rules page.

The Halftime

An NBA game is 48 minutes long, but it is actually rare for the game clock to hit 48 minutes. The reason for this is because the game is divided into four 12 minute quarters, and each team gets two minutes for a timeout in each quarter. There are also mandatory timeouts at the first dead ball under seven minutes in each quarter, and at the first dead ball under three minutes in each half. If a team calls a timeout when they are not in the bonus, the clock stops. So, in reality, an NBA game is around 56 minutes long.

The Length of a Halftime

The length of a halftime depends on the league. In the NBA, a halftime is usually between 15 and 20 minutes long. The length of a halftime in the NFL is usually 12 minutes long.

The End of the Game

The game of basketball has four quarters, each lasting 12 minutes. There is a halftime break that lasts for 20 minutes. The clock only runs when the ball is in play, and it stops when there is a dead ball situation. The clock also stops during timeouts and free throws. If a team is ahead by more than 20 points at the end of the third quarter, the clock runs continuously for the fourth quarter.

The Length of Overtime

Overtime in the NBA is five minutes long in the regular season, and ten minutes long in the playoffs. At the end of regulation, if the score is tied, each team is given one opportunity to score from half court. If the game is still tied after five minutes (or ten minutes in the playoffs), then each team is given another chance to score from half court. This process repeats until one team outscores the other during an overtime period.