Shot clock

A shot clock is a timer designed to increase the pace (and subsequently, the score) in a competitive sport. The sport most identified with the shot clock is basketball, although other sports have used one or are considering implementing one of their own to shorten the length of time needed to play the game to completion.

Basketball

In professional men's basketball (both NBA and FIBA), the shot clock counts down 24 seconds, thus often being called the "24-Second Clock." Failure to attempt a shot that hits the rim within this time results in loss of possession. A buzzer goes off when the shot clock reaches zero. A shot attempted right before this buzzer is called a buzzer beater.

Related Topics:
NBA - FIBA - Buzzer beater

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The shot clock has been criticized as teams occasionally foul intentionally so the opposing team cannot use the full 24 seconds. Thus the losing team might have a chance at coming back and tieing or winning the game.

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Danny Biasone came up with 24 seconds by dividing 2,880 (the number of seconds in a game) by 120 (the average number of shots in a game at that time).

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Women's basketball, both college and professional, uses 30 seconds. Men's college basketball in the United States uses a 35-second clock.

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