<P> In basketball, the shot clock is a timer designed to increase the game's pace and scoring . The offensive team must attempt a field goal with the ball leaving the player's hand before the shot clock expires, and the shot must either touch the rim or enter the basket . If the offensive team fails to register a field goal attempt within the time limit, they are assessed a violation resulting in a turnover to their opponents; if the ball hits or enters the rim after the clock expires, it is not a violation so long as it left the player's hand before expiration . The maximum time limit of the shot clock varies by level of play and league: The National Basketball Association has had a 24 - second limit since first introducing the clock in the 1950s; and college basketball for both men and women has a 30 - second limit . The WNBA had a 30 - second clock originally; since 2006 the limit is 24 seconds, just like in the NBA . </P> <P> The NBA (National Basketball Association) had problems attracting fans (and positive media coverage) before the shot clock's inception . This was due to teams running out the clock once they were leading in a game; without the shot clock, teams passed the ball nearly endlessly without penalty . If one team chose to stall, the other team (especially if behind) would often commit fouls to get the ball back following the free throw . Very low - scoring games with many fouls were common, which bored fans . 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 . The Pistons held the ball for minutes at a time without shooting (they attempted 13 shots for the game) in order to limit the impact of the Lakers' dominant George Mikan . The Pistons' performance led the St. Paul Dispatch to write "(The Pistons) gave pro basketball a great black eye ." NBA President Maurice Podoloff said, "In our game, with the number of stars we have, we of necessity run up big scores ." A few weeks after the Pistons / Lakers game, the Rochester Royals and Indianapolis Olympians played a six - overtime game with only one shot in each overtime - in each overtime period, the team who had the ball first held the ball for the entirety of the period before attempting a last - second shot . The NBA tried several rule changes in the early 1950s to speed up the game and reduce fouls before eventually adopting the shot clock . </P> <P> The shot clock first came to use in 1954 in Syracuse, New York, where Syracuse Nationals (now the Philadelphia 76ers) owner Danny Biasone and general manager Leo Ferris experimented using a 24 - second version during a scrimmage game . According to Biasone, "I looked at the box scores from the games I enjoyed, games where they didn't screw around and stall . I noticed each team took about 60 shots . That meant 120 shots per game . So I took 2,880 seconds (48 minutes) and divided that by 120 shots . The result was 24 seconds per shot ." Biasone and Ferris then convinced the NBA to adopt it for the 1954--55 season, a season in which the Nationals won the NBA Championship . </P> <P> Syracuse Nationals General Manager Leo Ferris has emerged in the discussion as one of those involved in the creation and development of the shot clock . Along with Danny Biasone and Emil Barboni, a scout for the Nats, Leo Ferris was a key figure in developing the 24 - second clock . 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 . Ferris, who loved mathematics, ended up dividing the number of seconds in a 48 - minute game (2,880) by the average number of shots taken in a game (120) to get to the 24 - second time limit per possession . While he and Biasone often share in the credit for the shot clock, it was Ferris who was singled out by business manager Bob Sexton at the 1954 team banquet for pushing the shot clock rule . </P>

When did the shot clock start in the nba