Well, let me tell you, I’ve been watching them NBA games on the television for a good while now. And one thing I always wondered about was how long them fellas run up and down that court. It sure looks tiring!
So, the NBA quarter length, that’s what they call it. Each one of them quarters is 12 minutes long. Yep, 12 minutes of pure running and jumping. And there’s four of them quarters in a whole game. You gotta be in good shape to do all that, I tell ya.
- First quarter, 12 minutes.
- Second quarter, 12 minutes.
- Third quarter, 12 minutes.
- Fourth quarter, 12 minutes.
Now, you might be thinking, “12 minutes, four times, that’s… uh…” Well, I’ll just tell you, it adds up to 48 minutes in total. That’s how long a NBA game is supposed to be, just the playing part. But shoot, it takes longer than that, you know! That NBA quarter length, though, stays the same. 12 minutes.
They got all these breaks in between. Like that halftime thing. That’s a longer break, right smack-dab in the middle of the game. They go off the court, rest up a bit. That halftime is about 15 minutes, I think. Then they come back for more. It ain’t just 48 minutes, no sir. It’s much longer with all the stopping and going. The whole thing usually takes two, maybe two and a half hours.
And if them boys are all tied up at the end, after them four quarters, well then they gotta play some more! That’s called overtime. And overtime, that’s another 5 minutes right there. Five more minutes of huffin’ and puffin’. They sure do earn their money, I reckon. Those NBA fellas.
Now, back in my day, we didn’t have all these fancy quarters and whatnots. We just played ’til the sun went down. But these NBA games, they got it all figured out. NBA quarter length, 12 minutes. Four of ’em. That’s the way it is.
It ain’t like them college games, neither. Them college fellas, they play two halves. Each of them halves is 20 minutes long. Different from the NBA. They do things different in the NBA. In the NBA, 12 minutes is the length of a quarter, and that is the law!
And you know what else? In that basketball game, that clock, it goes down, not up. Like, when it hits zero, that quarter is done. Over. Finished. Kaput. It ain’t like some other games where the clock just keeps going up and up. Nope. NBA, it goes down.
They got all these timeouts too. Times where they stop the clock, talk things over. Catch their breath, I suppose. All that stopping and starting, that adds to the whole shebang. That’s why it takes so long, even though them quarters are only 12 minutes each. The NBA quarter length is a fixed thing, it is.
So, you see, an NBA game, it’s more than just running back and forth for 48 minutes. There’s a lot more to it than meets the eye. But the main thing you gotta remember is this: NBA quarter length, 12 minutes. Each and every one of them. 12 minutes to a quarter, that is.
I seen them selling tickets to them all-star practice. They say get the best seats. I don’t know, seems like a lot of fuss for some practice. And they say it’s guaranteed. I reckon that’s a good thing. They even got an app for it, whatever that is. Technology, huh? And they say you can see the view from your seat. Fancy! It’s all so different now. All these things for just watching them NBA games. Still, one thing hasn’t changed: NBA quarter length is 12 minutes. For sure. They could put an app on it, still gonna be 12 minutes.
And they got all these fancy charts now, too. Showing you where to sit and all that. Back in my day, you just sat wherever you could find a spot! But I guess it’s good to know where you’re gonna be. Helps you plan your day, I suppose. They make a big deal out of it.
They even got something called “Deal Score”. Whatever that is. I bet it is something about money. But it is all a bit much for me to try and figure out. I am just happy to watch them play, with them 12 minutes quarters. They run and shoot. That’s good enough for me.
You know, for all the fancy stuff they got now, the game is still the same, basically. They still gotta run up and down that court. They still gotta throw that ball in the hoop. And they still gotta do it for 12 minutes each quarter. Four quarters make a NBA game. That’s just the way it is. NBA quarter length is just something you need to know if you’re gonna watch.
So, there you have it. That’s about all I know about them NBA games and how long they play. It’s a lot of running, a lot of jumping, and a whole lot of 12-minute quarters. And that’s all there is to it!
