Overtime : Basketix Lexicon

Overtime (OT): The Highest Peak of Basketball Entertainment

“Overtime” (OT), or rather, the “prolongation” in French, is arguably one of the best things that can happen during a game. Since there can be no draws in basketball, the two teams enter a fierce battle to secure the victory and can dispute multiple OTs until a winner is finally found. Between clutch plays, an electric crowd, spectacle, intense rivalries, and more, OT is without a doubt the pinnacle of entertainment, but above all, the moment when the stars take control and write history.

How Does Overtime Work in Basketball? 🧐

It’s quite simple. When the two teams are tied at the end of the four quarters 10 minutes in international play, 12 minutes in the NBA the game goes into overtime. From that moment, players have 5 minutes to separate themselves. However, at the end of these 5 extra minutes, if neither team has managed to take the lead, they go back for another 5 minutes, and so on, until one team finishes ahead on the scoreboard. It’s not uncommon to see a game go into double overtime, and some of the most legendary games in history have seen four to six overtimes!

Indianapolis Olympians vs. Rochester Royals (1951): The Longest Game in NBA History 🔙

78 minutes of play, 6 overtimes, and a 75-73 victory for the reigning champions against Indianapolis. On January 6, 1951, the NBA, which was two years old under that name, witnessed one of the craziest moments in its history. Even though little information is known about this specific game, this legendary moment deserves to be told. That day, the reigning champions, the Rochester Royals, hosted a modest team from Indianapolis. A routine game that the ancestors of the Sacramento Kings should have logically won easily, but where nothing went as planned. Indianapolis came back from 10 points down and managed to force overtime. Final score at the end of regulation time: 65-65. Yes, that’s low, but back then, the 3-point line didn’t exist, nor did outside shots for that matter. Everything was played in the paint between big men… It makes you wonder if it even really looked like basketball. Frightening…

But you know what’s even more frightening? The overtimes in that same game. It’s simple: neither team managed to score more than four points in any overtime period, and no basket was scored during OT 2 and 3! Pure madness. Nevertheless, it was the Royals who secured the final victory with a score of 75 to 73, thanks to a magnificent 2-0 run during the sixth and final overtime. A veritable walking sedative for Americans who finally experienced watching a game until the end of the night, like us Europeans do, but on a daily basis.

Damian Lillard vs. Denver Nuggets (2021): The Greatest Individual Overtime Performance in History

“The Zone,” that extraordinary mental state that exponentially increases physical performance and is reserved for a select few, often causes havoc. And during Game 5 of the 2021 playoffs between Portland and Denver, Damian Lillard managed to enter it, offering the world one of the most remarkable individual performances in modern basketball. Monstruous from the start of the series and in great form during the first three quarters, the Blazers’ point guard entered a new dimension when money time appeared. Taken by a monumental heat wave, Dame took things into his own hands and decided to do what he does best: hit 3-pointers, each one crazier than the last. But the craziest part isn’t there. He forced the first overtime, then continued his momentum during the extra 5 minutes… only to repeat his exploit! A double overtime that unfortunately ended in the hands of the Denver Nuggets, who were delighted to finally see Lillard miss a shot, much like Austin Rivers, who even thanked God for finally ending that relentless accuracy. While Denver snatched the game after two overtimes, history remembers something else: The 55 points and 12/17 from beyond the arc of the number 0, who continues, even now, to terrify opposing defenses with his ability to launch shots from the parking lot with disconcerting ease.