Basketball at the 2008 Summer Olympics was the seventeenth appearance of the sport of
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
as an
official Olympic medal event. It was held from 9 August to 24 August 2008. Competitions were held at the
Wukesong Indoor Stadium in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
,
China.
Medalists
Medal count
Flag bearers
Basketball players that carried their flags at the opening ceremony were
Yao Ming (for the People's Republic of China),
Šarūnas Jasikevičius
Šarūnas "Šaras" Jasikevičius (; born 5 March 1976) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player. He currently serves as a head coach for FC Barcelona of the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. During his playing career, standing ...
(for Lithuania),
Dirk Nowitzki
Dirk Werner Nowitzki (, ; born June 19, 1978) is a German former professional basketball player who is a special advisor for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Listed at , he is widely regarded as one of the gre ...
(for Germany),
Andrei Kirilenko
Andrei Gennadyevich Kirilenko (russian: Андрей Геннадьевич Кириленко; born February 18, 1981) is a Russian-American basketball executive and former professional basketball player, currently the commissioner of the Russ ...
(for the Russian Federation), and
Manu Ginóbili
Emanuel David Ginóbili Maccari (, , ; born 28 July 1977) is an Argentine former professional basketball player. Over a 23-year professional career, he became one of only two players (along with Bill Bradley) to have won a EuroLeague title, an ...
(for Argentina).
Events
Two sets of medals were awarded in the following events:
*Basketball – Men
*Basketball – Women
Qualification
A
NOC may enter up to one men's team with 12 players and up to one women's team with 12 players. The reigning world champions and the host country qualify automatically, as do the winners of the five continental championships (plus the men's runners-up from Europe and the Americas).
The best teams from the continental championships that did not automatically qualify participated in the
FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament
The FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament, formerly known as the FIBA Pre-Olympic Basketball Tournament, is the last qualifying tournament for the Olympic Basketball Tournament. The best non-champions from the different FIBA World zones quali ...
or
FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Women
The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its nam ...
to determine the final spots in Beijing.
Italicized teams qualified via the wildcard tournaments.
Basketball – Men
Basketball – Women
Format
* Twelve teams are split into two preliminary round groups of six teams each.
* The top four teams from both groups qualify for the knockout stage.
* Fifth-placed teams from both groups are ranked 9th–10th by basis of their records.
* Sixth-placed teams from both groups are ranked 11th–12th by basis of their records.
* In the quarterfinals, the matchups are as follows: A1 vs. B4, A2 vs. B3, A3 vs. B2 and A4 vs. B1.
** The eliminated teams at the quarterfinals are ranked 5th–8th by basis of their preliminary round records
* The winning teams from the quarterfinals meet in the semifinals as follows: A1/B4 vs. A3/B2 and A2/B3 vs. A4/B1.
* The winning teams from the semifinals contest the gold medal. The losing teams contest the bronze.
Tie-breaking criteria:
# Head to head results
#
Goal average
A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines.
A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ai ...
(not the goal difference) between the tied teams
# Goal average of the tied teams for all teams in its group
Calendar
Rosters
Each team is limited to twelve players on its roster.
Men
Preliminary round
The four best teams from each group advanced to the quarterfinal round.
Group A
Group B
Tournament bracket
Women
Preliminary round
The four best teams from each group advanced to the quarterfinal round.
Group A
Group B
Tournament bracket
Final standings
See also
*
Wheelchair basketball at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
The Wheelchair Basketball competition of the 2008 Summer Paralympics is held in Beijing National Indoor Stadium and Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium between September 7, 2008 and September 16, 2008. There will be two medals ...
References
External links
FIBA's Complete coverage of the Olympic Basketball TournamentBeijing 2008 Olympic GamesInternational Basketball Federation
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080618151215/http://www.madrid2008.fiba.com/pages/eng/fe/08/olymqual/wom/news/lateNews/p/newsid/25793/FE_news_lateNews_arti.html Updated Women's Draw after Qualifying Tournament]
Basketball – Official Results Book
{{Basketball at the Summer Olympics
Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics events
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
International basketball competitions hosted by China