Where does this come from, and can I check it?

The shot clock was introduced by the NBA in 1954 to stop teams stalling. The figure is taken from National Basketball Association, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a sports fact?

Yes. It sits on the Sports shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

Basketball teams must shoot within 24 seconds

The shot clock was introduced by the NBA in 1954 to stop teams stalling Before the clock, a leading team could hold the ball for minutes at a time and games became dull. The NBA chose 24 seconds, reportedly because the average game had about 120 shots in 48 minutes. FIBA adopted a 30-second clock in 1956 and cut it to 24 in 2000. It sits in Mondo's sports collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

National Basketball Association

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

Go further

Sports trivia

More facts like this

Goaltending was banned because of one tall playerThe rule arrived in 1944 after George Mikan began swatting shots away The NBA added the three-point line in 1979It arrived after the rival ABA had shown that long shots drew crowds Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in one gameHe reached the mark for Philadelphia against New York in March 1962 The 1992 Dream Team changed Olympic basketballNBA professionals were allowed at the Games for the first time that year Basketball began with two peach basketsJames Naismith invented the game in Massachusetts in 1891 A basketball court is 28 by 15 metresThat is the international size, while the NBA uses a slightly longer floor

Tags: basketball, shot-clock, rules

Basketball teams must shoot within 24 seconds: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: The shot clock was introduced by the NBA in 1954 to stop teams stalling. The figure is taken from National Basketball Association, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a sports fact?: Yes. It sits on the Sports shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.