An average NFL game includes 154 distinct plays split between offense, defense, and special teams. An average NBA game includes around 100 offensive possessions per team or 200 possessions total.
Even though the number of “plays” is fairly similar in a football game and a basketball game, we think about and consume the sports in vastly different ways. Basketball is a game of runs, flow, fluidity, and momentum, where possession changes hands constantly as dictated by the relentless metronome of the 24-second clock. Football is a game of stops and starts where each play lasts for an average of four violent, explosive seconds before each team regroups to plan their next move.