Helena Frye
Basketball is a popular sport at the Olympic Games, with both men's and women's teams participating. The game has been an Olympic sport since 1936, with the women's game following 40 years later. The standard format for Olympic basketball is 5-on-5, with each game divided into four 10-minute quarters. If the game is tied at the end of the fourth quarter, an overtime period is played. In the 5-on-5 format, overtime periods are five minutes long, and the teams play multiple overtime periods until a winner is decided. In the 3x3 format, introduced to the Olympics in 2020, a 2-minute overtime period is played, and the first team to score two points wins.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Length of each overtime period | 5 minutes |
| Number of overtime periods | Multiple |
| Winner | First team to score 2 points |
| Timeout per overtime | 1 |
| Timeout duration | 60 seconds |
| Overtime for gold-medal games | Multiple 20-minute 3-on-3 periods until one team scores |
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What You'll Learn
Overtime period duration: 5 minutes
In Olympic basketball, if the game is tied after four quarters, a five-minute overtime period is played. This is the same duration as a standard quarter in Olympic basketball, which is shorter than the 12-minute quarters in the NBA. Teams continue to play five-minute overtimes until a winner is decided.
Each team will get one timeout per overtime period, and timeouts do not carry over between quarters or overtimes. Timeouts can only be called in dead-ball situations, meaning players cannot call a timeout mid-possession to avoid a jump-ball situation, as they can in the NBA.
In 3x3 Olympic basketball, if the score is tied at the end of regulation, a shorter, two-minute overtime period is played, and the first team to score two points wins the game.
The overtime rules for basketball at the Olympics are distinct from those at other levels of play. For example, in levels below collegiate/Olympic play, an overtime period is typically half the length of a standard quarter, such as four minutes for high school varsity. Additionally, the gold medal game for the World Championships and Olympics since 2019 involves multiple 20-minute 3-on-3 periods until one team scores and wins the game.
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Overtime rules
The overtime rules for basketball at the Olympics depend on whether the game is 5-on-5 or 3x3.
5-on-5 Basketball Overtime Rules
In 5-on-5 Olympic basketball, if the game is tied after four quarters, a five-minute overtime period is played. The teams then continue playing five-minute overtimes until a winner is decided.
Each team will get one timeout per overtime period. Timeouts do not carry over between quarters or overtimes.
3x3 Basketball Overtime Rules
In 3x3 Olympic basketball, each game is played in a single 10-minute period or until a team reaches 21 points. If the game time expires before either team reaches 21 points, the team with the most points wins.
If the score is tied at the end of regulation, a 2-minute overtime is played, and the first team to score two points wins the game.
Other Overtime Rules
Since 2019, the gold medal game for the Olympics uses multiple 20-minute 3-on-3 periods until one team scores, which wins the game.
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Overtime in 3x3 basketball: 2-minute duration
3x3 basketball made its second appearance at the 2024 Paris Olympics, soaring in popularity worldwide. It is an offshoot of traditional 5-on-5 basketball, sharing similarities in ball-handling regulations, basic violation rules like goaltending, double dribble, and three-second rules. However, there are some key differences that set the two games apart.
The first and most obvious difference is the number of players on each team. As the name suggests, 3x3 basketball features three players on each team, with only one substitute allowed on the bench. The game is played on a half-court measuring 11m x 15m, with a single basket at one end and an end line at the other. The playing area is divided into two parts by a semi-circular arc, with the area inside the arc being the one-point zone and the area outside being the two-point zone. The ball used in 3x3 basketball is also slightly smaller than a regular basketball, measuring 72.39cm in diameter compared to 74.93cm for a size 7 basketball.
In terms of scoring, a FIBA-sanctioned game of 3x3 basketball is played over a single 10-minute period. The first team to score 21 points wins the game. If neither team reaches 21 points, the team with the most points at the end of 10 minutes is declared the winner. If the game is tied at the end of regulation time, overtime comes into effect. During overtime, the team that started the game as the defensive team gets the first possession, and the first team to score 2 points during overtime wins the game.
The overtime period in 3x3 basketball lasts for 2 minutes. This is different from the overtime rules in the 5-on-5 version of Olympic basketball, where a 5-minute overtime period is played until a winner is decided. In both versions of the game, each team is granted one timeout per overtime period, lasting 60 seconds.
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Overtime in gold medal games
Olympic basketball games are divided into four quarters lasting 10 minutes each. If the game is tied after four quarters, a five-minute overtime period is played. This overtime period is the same duration regardless of whether it is a gold medal game or not. Teams continue playing five-minute overtimes until a winner is decided. Each team will get one timeout per overtime, lasting 60 seconds.
The United States is the most successful country in Olympic basketball. The US men's teams have won 16 or 17 of 20 tournaments, including seven consecutive titles from 1936 through 1968. US women's teams have won 10 titles out of 12 tournaments, including eight in a row from 1996 to 2024.
The first Olympic basketball tournament was organised in the 1936 Berlin Olympics on outdoor tennis courts. The US men's national team won its fifth straight Olympic gold medal in 2024, while the US women claimed their eighth consecutive Olympic gold. The men's and women's medal games took place on separate dates in August 2024.
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Overtime timeouts
In Olympic basketball, each team is limited to two timeouts in the first half and three timeouts in the second half. Additionally, a maximum of two timeouts can be called in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter. Each timeout lasts 60 seconds and they do not carry over between halves or overtimes.
If the game is tied after four quarters, a five-minute overtime period is played. Each team will get one timeout per overtime. Timeouts can only be called in dead-ball situations, which means that players cannot call a timeout mid-possession to avoid a jump-ball situation, unlike in the NBA.
In the 3x3 version of Olympic basketball, the first team to score two points in overtime wins the game.
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Frequently asked questions
Each quarter in Olympic Basketball lasts 10 minutes.
An overtime period in Olympic Basketball lasts 5 minutes.
Multiple 5-minute overtime periods are played until a winner is decided.
An overtime period in 3x3 Olympic Basketball lasts 2 minutes.
Since 2019, the gold medal game has used multiple 20-minute 3-on-3 periods until one team scores and wins the game.
