October – June (Finals)
NBA game times
With tip-offs from 7pm to 10:30pm ET, NBA basketball is a midnight-to-breakfast sport for Europe and a morning one for Asia and Australia. Here's the tip-off map in your time zone, regular season through the Finals.
Tip-offs run 7pm–10:30pm US Eastern; the Finals tip around 8:30pm ET.
Typical NBA start times, by region
Pick your region for the full local guide:
The regular slots (in UK time)
DST-adjusted for the coming week. Swap region using the links above.
| Slot | Scheduled | 🇬🇧 UK time (GMT/BST) |
|---|---|---|
Early tip-offs (typical) | 19:00 New York | 00:00 (next day) |
National TV games (typical) | 19:30 New York | 00:30 (next day) |
Late/West Coast games (typical) | 22:00 New York | 03:00 (next day) |
NBA Finals (typical) | 20:30 New York | 01:30 (next day) |
NBA — quick answers
How long does an NBA game last in real time?
Four 12-minute quarters take about 2 hours 15 minutes to 2.5 hours of real time with timeouts, breaks and halftime.
What time do NBA Finals games start?
Finals games typically tip at 8:30pm ET — 1:30am in the UK, 6am in India and 10:30am on Australia's east coast.