How Long Is a Basketball Game? Quarters, Overtime and Breaks
How long is a basketball game? NBA and FIBA quarters, overtime periods, half-time, breaks and timeouts explained, using the official rulebooks.
An NBA game lasts 48 minutes of playing time, split into four periods of twelve minutes each. A game under FIBA rules lasts 40 minutes, split into four quarters of ten minutes each. In both systems a tied game goes to five-minute overtime periods until there is a winner, and half-time, the breaks between quarters and timeouts all sit outside that playing time.
NBA Quarters and Game Length
The NBA Official Rulebook fixes every period of regulation play at twelve minutes. Under the rulebook, a level score once the fourth period ends sends the game to overtime, so regulation has four periods:
- First period: 12 minutes
- Second period: 12 minutes
- Third period: 12 minutes
- Fourth period: 12 minutes
That adds up to 4 × 12 = 48 minutes of regulation playing time. Fifteen minutes are allowed between the two halves, and the teams switch ends for the second half.
FIBA Quarters and Game Length
Under the FIBA Official Basketball Rules, each of the four quarters runs for ten minutes. That gives 4 × 10 = 40 minutes of regulation playing time, eight minutes less than an NBA game. FIBA names the first two quarters the first half and the last two the second half, and the teams swap baskets for the second half.
Overtime Rules
Both rulebooks keep adding extra periods until one team is ahead, so a game cannot finish level.
Overtime in the NBA
Every NBA overtime period lasts five minutes. When the fourth period ends with the teams level, the first overtime starts after a 2-minute 30-second break, and the teams stay at the same ends for every overtime that follows. A further five-minute period is added each time an overtime finishes level.
Overtime in FIBA play
FIBA follows the same idea. A tie after the fourth quarter leads to a five-minute overtime, and the game keeps adding five-minute overtimes until one of them ends with a team in front. FIBA sets a 2-minute interval ahead of each overtime.
Each overtime adds five minutes of playing time. An NBA game that needs one overtime therefore has 53 minutes of playing time, and a FIBA game with one overtime has 45 minutes.
Half-Time and Breaks Between Quarters
The rulebooks set the length of every break.
- Half-time: fifteen minutes in the NBA, and fifteen minutes under FIBA rules.
- NBA short breaks: in local games, the pause after the first period and after the third period is 2 minutes 30 seconds. National TV games stretch both of those pauses to 3 minutes 30 seconds. The wait before any overtime stays at 2 minutes 30 seconds.
- FIBA short breaks: 2 minutes after the first quarter, 2 minutes after the third quarter, and 2 minutes ahead of each overtime.
- Before the game: FIBA rules start a 20-minute interval of play ahead of the scheduled tip-off.
Timeouts
Timeouts stop play and are counted separately from playing time.
NBA timeouts
Each NBA team has seven charged timeouts in regulation and two in each overtime period. Every period must include two mandatory timeouts. A mandatory timeout lasts 2 minutes 45 seconds in local games and 3 minutes 15 seconds in national games, and any further team timeout in a period lasts 1 minute 15 seconds.
FIBA timeouts
A FIBA timeout lasts one minute. Each team may take two in the first half, three in the second half and one in each overtime. A team cannot save unused timeouts for a later half or overtime.
When the Game Clock Stops
The game clock does not run for the whole of a game. Each rulebook lists when it must stop.
NBA clock stoppages
The NBA timing devices stop every time an official blows the whistle. A made field goal also stops the clock in two windows: the last minute of each of the first three periods, and the closing two minutes of regulation and of every overtime.
FIBA clock stoppages
FIBA’s list includes these moments:
- a referee whistles while the ball is live
- a basket is scored against a team that has asked for a time-out
- a basket is scored when 2:00 or less remains in the fourth quarter or in an overtime
The Shot Clock
Both rulebooks also use a shot clock. In the NBA it starts at 24 seconds, and under FIBA rules a team with the ball has 24 seconds to try a shot. Both books reset the shot clock to 14 seconds in certain situations, such as when the attacking team gets the ball back after a missed shot that touched the ring.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long is a basketball game in the NBA?
An NBA game has 48 minutes of playing time, made up of four twelve-minute periods. Each overtime adds five more minutes, and half-time, breaks and timeouts are added on top of the playing time.
How many quarters are in a basketball game?
Both the NBA and FIBA play four quarters, or periods. NBA quarters are twelve minutes long, and FIBA quarters are ten minutes long.
How long is overtime in basketball?
Overtime is five minutes in both the NBA and FIBA. If the score is still tied after an overtime, another five-minute overtime is played until there is a winner.
