How Long Are NBA games?
Basketball takes a lot of energy and stamina, which is why longevity in the sport is majorly celebrated. Lebron James has been at it for TWO decades now, averaging 71 games a season. Nonetheless, to truly understand the profoundness of such a stat, you have to understand the length of a basketball game. Therefore, how long are NBA games usually?
Regardless of what sport you watch, on television games can easily translate into hours. Have you ever tried to workout for around 2-3 hours? If so, you may understand why some athletes can look pretty much spent after competing. However, the actual times breakdown much differently, per sport.
For instance, an NBA game consists of four quarters. How long are NBA quarters? Twelve minutes with a break of about two and a half minutes between the first and second quarter and the third and fourth quarter. An exception to that would be when the game is televised nationally. In that case, the break between the first and second quarter and the third and fourth quarter are about three and a half minutes.
After the end of the second quarter there is what’s known as a “halftime.” In order to separate the second and third quarter.
Nonetheless, when it comes to actual “runtime;” you may still wonder how long do NBA games last? Technically, there are forty eight minutes of game time, but don’t tell your family that or they will expect you to be available for them in less than an hour. In reality, NBA games take about two and a half hours to play those forty eight minutes of basketball action.
Therefore, as you can see, the surface answer to basketball game duration can be misleading at first because there are many variables that can change how far beyond forty eight minutes that it takes to play the entire game. Television broadcasting timeouts, coaches timeouts; officiating timeouts and timeouts to take a closer look at fouls; and other plays on the court to ensure their accuracy can dramatically extend how long NBA games last.
How Long Are NBA Games?
Additionally, the more fouls there are that give players free throws; will make an NBA game last longer as well. Usually, with a couple minutes left to go; fouls happen rapidly. The losing team often fouls to give themselves more time to make a comeback. Thus, extending the final minutes of a game from maybe two to 5-10 minutes.
Furthermore, some very prominent NBA games such as the NBA finals can have longer than fifteen minute halftimes. This is because the coaches may take extra time to prepare players for the second half of an extra important game. Or sometimes recording artists will entertain the crowd during halftime. Which can extend it beyond the standard fifteen minutes long.
So then, basketball games are organized to keep things entertaining, but give players a quick breather. Also, to give teams a moment to properly evaluate and strategize. Hopefully, the next time you enjoy an exciting NBA game; you’ll remember and appreciate how much energy it takes for ballers to last several quarters. And how nice it is to be able to kick back and enjoy for a few hours.
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