How Long Is Basketball Season? (Everything You Need To Know)

Basketball is the second most popular sport season in the United States and thethird most profitable. This sport has been around for more than 130 years and has become an internationally beloved team sport. If you are new to basketball or want to get more involved in the sport, you may be wondering when the official basketball season starts and ends.

Basketball season typically occurs for 19 weeks over an eight-month period from mid-October to mid-April every year. The season consists of 82 professional NBA games. This sport is traditionally played in North American winter, which is why the season is held over these months.

The official basketball season is decided by the NBA, but there are basketball leagues held all over the world, and the sport can be played at any time of year. With that said, let’s explore the official NBA season to find out when it starts and ends and learn more about the sport along the way.

How Long Is A Normal Basketball Season?

Basketball is a very intense sport, and it is played for a long time every year, but this sport seems to follow a different schedule compared to all other sports and falls over less-common times of year than other sports. When is the start and finish of the official basketball season?

The basketball season usually falls over eight months, from October to April. The season typically begins in the middle or third week of October and subsequently ends in the middle or third week of April in the following calendar year.

This season includes 82 professional NBA games over the fixed 19-week schedule. Games are played almost every night during the basketball season, except for the All-Star Weekend Break.

Thirty NBA teams play through their regional divisions to determine the winner of the region and move forward into a series of Conference semi-finals, Conference finals, and the National Basketball Association Finals.

The playoffs in the NBA final end with seven games and the winning team to reach four wins becomes the champion team, having won the entire NBA season.

The basketball season is a beloved annual sporting season by many fans internationally, and millions of people follow the games from the beginning of the season to the end, rooting for their favorites along the way.

This season is among the longest in all team sports but provides a fair opportunity for all professional teams to compete on a level playing field until a champion team is found out of all of the teams that enter. This tournament determines the best basketball team in the United States.

Why Is Basketball Season from October To April?

The basketball season is a long, eight-month tournament that determines the best team in the sport and is conducted with 82 total games. The season is even longer if the events leading up to the official season and the closing events are considered as well. Why is the basketball season this long and held during these months?

The unconventional time period for the basketball season that runs from October into the April of the following year is simply due to tradition. Basketball was originally a winter sport and is traditionally played during the winter months.

The winter months in North America fall from October to April in most years, which means that the basketball season should be played over these months as well.

When basketball was originally invented in 1891, it was developed in schools in Massachusetts, where the winter months are exceptionally cold and prevent young athletes from playing any team sports.

Basketball was developed to provide young athletes with a sport that could be played indoors during the frigid winter months of the Northwest, and so traditionally is played during these months to this day.

The original sport was not organized into seasons but was governed by the weather rather than the calendar, which is why the official basketball season is played from one year to the next.

The first official basketball league was established in 1898, and the season was then officially set. Every international basketball team plays basketball during the same season, even though the winter months do not fall at the same time of year in every country.

The official schedule is set by the NBA and is usually kept by all international leagues, even those that do not play basketball in winter.

Is Basketball Always Played In This Season Format?

Basketball has been going since the early 1890s and has seen many changes in its more than 130 years of existence. Is basketball always played during the same months and the same season, or were there ever changes made to this format?

The truth is that basketball has always been played during these months, as it was originally invented and played during American Northwest winters, which fall between October and April.

However, the format of the season has not always been the same, simply because the sport has not always been as large as it is today.

The massive season played with 82 games over 19 weeks is the modern reality of the sport because there are so many teams competing in the NBA. If there were fewer teams in the sport, the season would probably be longer or at least less intense.

Games in the NBA season are played almost every night during the season and are done so to keep the tournament within the allotted eight-month schedule.

With that said, there have been amendments made in the past to shorten the overall season due to international events, and there have been games shut down or removed from the season altogether for similar reasons.

However, most basketball seasons have been conducted during the same time period since it began more than 130 years ago, and every season continues to excite every basketball fan internationally, regardless of the length of the season and how many games are played every year.

Is Basketball A Winter Sport?

Basketball is an international sport that is played in more than 200 countries. Basketball is even an Olympic sport that is held at the annual Summer Olympics. However, there is still some confusion in many regions as to whether or not this sport is a winter sport or it should be played in the summertime.

The truth is that basketball is a winter sport. It was developed to be played indoors during very cold winter months and is traditionally played during the North American winter months.

However, most international basketball teams do not have their winter months during the same time of year and typically play their basketball during the summer.

Northern hemisphere nations play basketball in the winter, and the southern hemisphere plays basketball officially during summertime, to keep the basketball season the same everywhere in the world.

This can lead to some confusion, but the simple way to think about it is that the sport has almost always been played in the same month due to the seasons, climate, and weather in the place where it was invented.

Every other country and region where winter occurs at different times of the year plays the game in the same months to keep the tradition.

With that said, there are several international leagues that play basketball throughout the year and tend to have smaller tournaments outside of traditional basketball season.

Can Basketball Be Played All Year?

If basketball is traditionally a winter sport, and it was developed to be played during the winter months, can basketball be played throughout the year? Does basketball have to only be played in winter?

While basketball is traditionally a winter sport, this game can be played at any time of the year. The game is made to be played indoors, which means that it can be played at any time of year, regardless of the weather.

Basketball is among the few team sports that can be played indoors and, therefore, cannot be rained out or canceled due to weather conditions, which means it can be played at any time throughout the year.

There are outdoor basketball courts that tend to mainly be used in summer or when the climate is dryer so as to not be rained out. Outdoor basketball courts are a favorite of summertime basketball players, but the game is typically moved indoors if possible during the winter.

Every basketball player knows that the game can be played at any time of year, and the only limitation is whether or not there is an indoor court available. If an indoor court is used, the game can be played all year round and cannot be affected by the weather in any way.

Conclusion

The basketball season is usually held during the same time every year and is played over the same eight months to keep with the tradition of playing the sport over the North American winter. This game is highly popular, even though the season is so long and there are so many games to follow.

This is among the most popular sports season of any sport and has a very large international following. The basketball season is the third most profitable sports season in America and is beloved in many countries worldwide.