Well, let me tell ya, if you ever sat down to watch one of them NBA games on the telly, you might be wonderin’, “How long is each quarter?” I reckon that’s a good question, and it ain’t too hard to answer neither. See, in the NBA, each quarter lasts for 12 minutes. That’s right, twelve whole minutes. Now, don’t go thinkin’ it’s just some quick little game like a pick-up match down by the creek. No sir, each of them quarters is a solid 12 minutes long, and there’s four of ’em in a full game.
Now, you might be sittin’ there, thinkin’, “Well, how much time does that make in total?” Well, I’ll tell ya! If you add up all them quarters, you got 48 minutes of actual playin’ time. That’s right, 48 minutes of basketball action. Ain’t too shabby, huh?

But hold on just a second, there’s more to it than just them 12-minute quarters. You see, there’s a lil’ break in between each quarter. They call it a “halftime” when the two teams get a nice long rest. After the first half, which is the first two quarters, they take a 15-minute break to catch their breath, stretch their legs, and maybe have a sip of water or somethin’. Then, they go back out for the second half to finish up the game.
Now, I gotta tell ya, the NBA ain’t like them college games or even them games they play in them international leagues like FIBA. In them, the quarters ain’t as long. College games, for example, only got two halves that last 20 minutes each. That’s a whole lot less than the NBA. And as for FIBA? Well, their quarters last 10 minutes. So, you see, the NBA’s got them long quarters, what with 12 minutes each, and it sure makes for a good long game.
But now, let’s talk about overtime. Sometimes, them games get all tied up at the end of the fourth quarter, and what happens then? Well, they don’t just call it quits and go home. No sir, they go into overtime! But here’s the thing—overtime ain’t like the regular quarters. Oh no, it’s only 5 minutes long. That’s right, 5 minutes. Not 12 like the others. So if it’s a close game, them last 5 minutes can sure feel mighty long, but you don’t gotta sit through another whole quarter.
And I reckon you might be wonderin’ what happens in them breaks in between quarters. Well, let me tell ya, after the first and second quarters, and after the third and fourth quarters, there’s a little break of 2 and a half minutes. It ain’t long, but it gives ’em just enough time to catch their breath, talk strategy, and maybe wipe off some of that sweat. Ain’t no reason to get all bent outta shape, they’re just restin’ up for the next go-round.
So, in short, each of them NBA quarters lasts a full 12 minutes. Four quarters in total makes for a 48-minute game, but with all them breaks and halftime, the whole thing might take a bit longer, especially if there’s overtime. But I tell ya what, every minute is packed with action, and it sure don’t feel long when you’re watchin’ a good game. And that’s the long and short of it, just like I told ya.

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