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Can A Basketball Player Play the Whole Game?

The game of basketball requires a tremendous amount of fitness and endurance during a full-court basketball game. An NBA game consists of 48 minutes with four 12 minute quarters.

Can a basketball player play the whole game? Yes, there are no rules in the rule book that would otherwise suggest a player can not play every minute of a basketball game he is in. This rule is universal in every league around the world, as long as the player does not foul out and their coach wants to play them the whole game he/she could do so.

Why would a player play the whole game anyway? There are a number of reasons why a coach would allow a player to play the whole game, sometimes the coach has no choice. We will further discuss the reasons for such cases and look at stats and records for players who played an incredible amount of minutes in one game and a season.

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Can a basketball player play the whole game cont…

Basketball players are known for having tremendous endurance, it’s not uncommon for a player to play a whole game in the NBA of 48 minutes. When stakes are high this commonly seen by coaches playing their superstar players for the entire course of a game or near it.

A known reason for a player playing an entire game is when a team is jockeying for position in the standings and in order to make the playoffs they are in need of a win. It is the superstar on the team that will get little to no rest during an important game.

The drawbacks to this are the player will have completely depleted his energy and will need enough time to recover for the next game, which in many cases they are not able to completely do so as games are only separated a day apart from each other. Players are never 100 percent healthy in the NBA as far as recovery goes and are always dealing with some nagging ailment.

The downfall to a coach playing a player the whole game is the risk of injury. Injuries are a part of the game and they happen all the time, some by accident or some due to wear and tear. Like a car the more you drive the more likely you are to getting into an accident. In the NBA the more you play the more likely you are to suffer an injury. This is why it is important for players to take care of their bodies with proper warmups workout and stretching exercises.

Another reason players will play a whole game is because of injuries that the players on the team are suffering from injury and need to sit out. This has happened before game or in-game when players are unable to play due to injury forcing other players to play major minutes.

Regardless of the circumstances, the accidents happen and although some can be avoided, injuries still do happen and nothing is a guarantee foolproof way to prevent them.

How many minutes do NBA players play?

NBA – MPG leaders During the Season

The average minutes per game in today’s NBA is considerably lower compared to years past. If we take a look at minutes per game in 2020 Damian Lillard leads the way with 37.48 minutes a game.

If we look at the last 10 years from 2010 to 2020, compared that to the last 20 years before that 1989 to 2009, its almost 5 minutes on average less for the top player in average minutes per game for that season next to their name.

Nowadays, NBA Coaches limit there stars players due to how long and gruesome the season is. An NBA superstar player is a team’s investment. To avoid injury and protect their players from chronic pain and injuries, it’s important to not push a player past their limits and capabilities. An 82 game season plus practice and shoot around, by the time playoffs rolls around most of the league has their star players in load management.

Load Management

What is load management? Load Management happens towards the end of the season when playoff positions are pretty much set. Players will rest their bodies due to the long season and get ready for the playoffs. There is a lot of distaste for this among NBA fans.
Many fans buy tickets to watch their favorite team play but also want to watch a Lebron James face off against their home team, some fans travel miles to watch their favorite players play in a city foreign to them, only to be disappointed when they find out that they aren’t playing on game day.

Has any NBA player played 48 minutes?

There have been over 300 players who have played all 48 minutes of a basketball game, Lebron James is well known for playing all 48 minutes during the postseason. In the 2005/06 season, Lebron played 46.5 minutes during the playoffs. This was an incredible feat as we know the playoffs are a different beast, with no room to rest or relax. From tipoff, every play is important, from trying to get open on offense to play in your face hard nose man to man defense. Each cut and movement becomes exhausting.

NBA Records for Minutes Played

Record for most minutes played in one game?

On November 9, 1989, the Seattle Supersonics star Dale Ellis played 69 minutes and Xavier McDaniel played 68 minutes in one game against the Milwaukee Bucks in which the game went into five overtimes. The final score was 154 to 155 for Milwaukee.

Record for most minutes played in a season?

In the 1961/62 season, Wilt Chamberlain averaged 48.5 minutes a game. If a game is 48 minutes how is he able to average 48.5? The only explanation would be the games that went into overtime that season would explain the 0.5.

Record or most minutes for an NBA player for their career?

Wilt Chamberlain averaged 45.80 minutes per game in his 16-year career.