Shot clock
A shot clock is a countdown timer used in a variety of games and sports, indicating a set amount of time that a team may possess the object of play before attempting to score a goal.
The shot clock was originally introduced in the NBA in 1954 as a way to increase scoring and reduce stalling tactics that were commonly used before its inception.
The shot clock is usually displayed above the backboard behind each goal, allowing offensive players to see precisely how much time they have to shoot and officials to easily determine whether buzzer beaters should be counted.
The most extreme case occurred on November 22, 1950, when the Fort Wayne Pistons defeated the Minneapolis Lakers by a record-low score of 19–18, including 3–1 in the fourth quarter.
[3] The Pistons held the ball for minutes at a time without shooting (they attempted 13 shots for the game) to limit the impact of the Lakers' dominant George Mikan.
It led the St. Paul Dispatch to write, "[The Pistons] gave pro basketball a great black eye.
"[4]: 31–2 NBA President Maurice Podoloff said, "In our game, with the number of stars we have, we of necessity run up big scores.
The NBA tried several rule changes in the early 1950s to speed up the game and reduce fouls before eventually adopting the shot clock.
[5][6] Jack Andrews, longtime basketball writer for The Syracuse Post-Standard, often recalled how Ferris would sit at Danny Biasone's Eastwood bowling alley, scribbling potential shot clock formulas onto a napkin.
"[3][8][2]: 29 Ferris was singled out by business manager Bob Sexton at the 1954 team banquet for pushing the shot clock rule.
In 2005, the FedExForum in Memphis opened with a new two-sided transparent shot clock developed by Daktronics with a smaller secondary version also accompanying the larger one.
By the 2010's, the twin shot clock format, used by Daktronics and Canadian rival OES, became the standard for most venues, especially in NCAA play.
In the 2014-15 season, the NBA signed a deal with Tissot, a Swiss watch company, for specification two-sided transparent shot clock, which was thinner than its predecessors.
The American Basketball Association also adopted a 30-second clock when it launched in 1967–68, switching to the NBA's 24-second length for its final season (1975–76).
The shot clock resets to its full length at the start of each period and whenever possession changes to the opposite team such as after a basket is scored, the defense steals the ball or recovers a rebound, or the offense commits a foul or violation.
If the offensive team is fouled and the penalty does not include free throws but just an in-bounds pass, the shot clock is reset.
However, after extreme results like an 11–6 Tennessee win over Temple in 1973, support for a men's shot clock began to build.
In concert with this, the "stall ball" strategy can be used in a state or league, but depending on the organization, itself comes with restrictions on its use by the game officials, with overuse of it often being whistled as a foul or an unsportsmanlike act.
As the cost of a shot clock system can be cost-prohibitive, its use in high schools has been debated on that consideration and not the flow of the game.
