How Long Is Basketball Halftime? Halftime Length by Level

How long is basketball halftime? In college basketball, the NBA and international FIBA play the answer is 15 minutes, and each of those rulebooks says so in plain words. High school is less tidy. The current national high school book is sold rather than posted, and the 2017-18 NFHS book sets 10 minutes, with room to stretch it for special events. This page lists the halftime length and the shorter breaks between quarters for each level, with the rule number, and then covers what the rules say happens during the break: teams change baskets, team fouls may reset, and someone has to throw the ball in to start the second half.

How Long Is Basketball Halftime at Each Level

Halftime is not part of the playing time, so a game's total length on the clock does not include it. The playing time by level is four 8-minute quarters in high school, two 20-minute halves for NCAA men, four 10-minute quarters for NCAA women and FIBA, and four 12-minute periods in the NBA. The full list of game rules by level is on basketball rules and regulations.

How Long Is College Basketball Halftime

Fifteen minutes, for men and women. The NCAA men's book sets varsity play at two 20-minute halves "with a halftime intermission of 15 minutes" (Rule 5 Sec. 6 Art. 1). The women's book sets four 10-minute quarters with the same 15-minute halftime (Rule 5 Sec. 6 Art. 1).

Both books add one exception. A note under Rule 5 Sec. 8 says that in NCAA Division I tournament games the halftime intermission may be lengthened by five minutes, so a Division I tournament halftime can run 20 minutes. Both books also let conferences, leagues or associations shorten the periods of non-varsity games, or the two teams and the referee agree to it (Rule 5 Sec. 6 Art. 2). That article covers period length, not halftime.

High School, Middle School and Youth

High school games in the United States are played under NFHS rules as each state association adopts them. The current NFHS rulebook is sold rather than posted, and the NCAA's published chart of rules differences has no row for halftime. So the high school answer on this page comes from the 2017-18 NFHS book, and it may have changed since.

• Halftime. The 2017-18 text sets 10 minutes between halves. It lets the halftime be extended to as much as 15 minutes for special activities, as long as the home team told the visiting team before the game (Rule 5-5-1).
• Between quarters. One minute after the first and third quarters (Rule 5-5-1).
• Below ninth grade. The same text sets six-minute quarters for games involving only players below the ninth grade, with the same intermissions (Rule 5-5-2).

Check your state association rulebook for the current length before you plan a halftime routine around it. There is no national middle school rulebook, and youth leagues write their own rule sheets, so a middle school or youth coach should ask the league what halftime it plays. Coaching guides for those ages are on middle school basketball coaching and coaching youth basketball.

NBA and FIBA Halftime

NBA. "Fifteen minutes will be permitted between halves of all games" (Rule 5 Sec. II(c)). The NBA book also tells coaches and players to leave the court at halftime and go straight to their dressing room (Rule 12A Sec. VII(f)).

FIBA. The half-time interval is 15 minutes (Art. 8.4). FIBA also sets a 20-minute interval before the scheduled start of the game (Art. 8.2), and an interval of play ends when the ball is at the thrower-in's disposal to start the next quarter (Art. 8.6).

First half. Under NCAA rules each team warms up and shoots in the first half at the basket farther from its own bench. Here the bench is on the bottom half, so the team attacks the top basket.

Breaks Between Quarters

The shorter breaks are where the levels differ most.

• NCAA women. 75 seconds between the first and second quarters and between the third and fourth in a game without TV timeouts. In a game with the TV timeout format, the break is 75 seconds or the length of the TV timeout (Rule 5 Sec. 6 Art. 1).
• NBA. 2:30 between the first and second periods, between the third and fourth, and before any overtime in local games. National TV games get 3:30 between those periods and 2:30 before overtime (Rule 5 Sec. II(d)).
• FIBA. 2 minutes between the first and second quarters, between the third and fourth, and before each overtime (Art. 8.3).
• Before overtime. One minute before each extra period in the NCAA men's and women's books (Rule 5 Sec. 6 Art. 1).

Overtime length and how many extra periods a game may need are on basketball overtime rules, and timeouts by level are on when to call a timeout in basketball.

What the Rules Say Happens at Halftime

Teams change baskets

The NCAA, NBA, FIBA and 2017-18 NFHS books all send the teams to the other end for the second half (NCAA men and women Rule 1 Sec. 1 Art. 3, NBA Rule 4 Sec. I(b), 2017-18 NFHS Rule 4-5-3, and FIBA Art. 9.5, which also swaps the warm-up half-courts). Who picks the first-half basket differs. The NCAA books have each team warm up and shoot in the first half at the basket farther from its own bench (Rule 1 Sec. 1 Art. 2), and the 2017-18 NFHS text says the same (Rule 4-5-2). In the NBA the visiting team chooses (Rule 4 Sec. I(a)). FIBA puts the home team's bench and warm-up half-court on the left side of the scorer's table unless both teams agree to swap (Art. 9.4). Overtime keeps the second-half baskets in the NCAA, the NBA and FIBA.

Second half. The teams change baskets at halftime in the NFHS (2017-18 text), NCAA, NBA and FIBA books, so the same team now attacks the basket nearer its bench.

Team fouls

Whether the team-foul count starts over at halftime depends on the level. The NCAA's rules differences chart shows NCAA men resetting at the end of the first half, and high school and NCAA women resetting at the end of each quarter, halftime included. The NBA counts by period and FIBA by quarter, so both start the third quarter at zero. FIBA adds that a team foul committed during an interval counts in the next quarter (Art. 42.1.2). The bonus numbers that go with each count are on the basketball fouls list.

A technical foul during the break

A technical foul can still be called at halftime. In the NCAA men's book, a technical assessed during the halftime intermission is shot first, and play then goes to the team the possession arrow favors (Rule 8 Sec. 6 Art. 5.a). The NCAA women's book starts the next quarter with the free throws for a technical called after the ball is dead at the end of a quarter (Rule 5 Sec. 7 Art. 6). FIBA shoots any free throws for a technical, flagrant or disqualifying foul in an interval before the next quarter starts (Art. 8.9). More on the penalties is on technical foul in basketball.

Substitutes

FIBA makes a substitute report to the timer before entering after a time-out or an interval, except the half-time interval (Art. 19.3.7). Rotations across the halves are on basketball substitution patterns.

How the Second Half Starts

The second half does not start with a jump ball in the NCAA, NBA or FIBA books.

• NCAA men. The possession arrow is turned around for the change of baskets, and the team the arrow favored at the end of the first half throws in at the division line opposite the scorers' table (Rule 6 Sec. 3 Art. 6).
• NCAA women. The same procedure starts the second, third and fourth quarters (Rule 6 Sec. 3 Art. 6).
• FIBA. Every quarter after the first starts with an alternating-possession throw-in (Arts. 12.4 and 12.6), taken from the center line extended opposite the scorer's table with one foot on each side of the line. The thrower may pass to a teammate anywhere on the court (Art. 17.2.3).
• NBA. No arrow. The team that gained first possession of the game inbounds to start the fourth period, and the other team inbounds to start the second and third (Rule 6 Sec. I(b)). The thrower may run the end line on a throw-in at the start of a period (Rule 6 Sec. I(c)).
• High school. Check your state association rulebook.

How the second half starts in NCAA and FIBA games. 3 throws in at the division line on the sideline opposite the scorer's table. In the NCAA the ball goes to the team the possession arrow favors, and FIBA lets the thrower pass to a teammate anywhere on the court.

How the second half starts in the NBA. The team that did not gain first possession of the game throws in from the end line to start the third period. 4 inbounds to 1 and the team attacks the far basket.

The opening tip and the arrow are explained on basketball jump ball rules, and plays for the opening possession are on jump ball plays and alignments.

Using the Break

Ten or fifteen minutes goes fast once the team walks off the floor. What to look at in the first half and what to change for the second is covered on basketball halftime adjustments, and the clock decisions that follow in the second half are on basketball clock management. The other rules pages are listed on the rules and terms hub.

More Guides From This Batch

• Basketball Rules for Beginners: The Basic Rules of the Game
• Simple Basketball Offense for Youth and Beginner Teams

Back to Basketball Rules and Regulations and every Rules and Terms page.

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