# Basketball at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Basketball at the 2008 Summer Olympics was the seventeenth appearance of the sport of basketball 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, China.

## Medalists

| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Men details | United States (USA) Carmelo Anthony Carlos Boozer Chris Bosh Kobe Bryant Dwight Howard LeBron James Jason Kidd Deron Williams Chris Paul Tayshaun Prince Michael Redd Dwyane Wade | Spain (ESP) José Calderón Rudy Fernández Jorge Garbajosa Marc Gasol Pau Gasol Carlos Jiménez Raúl López Álex Mumbrú Juan Carlos Navarro Felipe Reyes Berni Rodríguez Ricky Rubio | Argentina (ARG) Carlos Delfino Manu Ginóbili Román González Juan Pedro Gutiérrez Leonardo Gutiérrez Federico Kammerichs Andrés Nocioni Fabricio Oberto Pablo Prigioni Antonio Porta Paolo Quinteros Luis Scola |
| Women details | United States (USA) Seimone Augustus Sue Bird Tamika Catchings Sylvia Fowles Kara Lawson Lisa Leslie DeLisha Milton-Jones Candace Parker Cappie Pondexter Katie Smith Diana Taurasi Tina Thompson | Australia (AUS) Suzy Batkovic Tully Bevilaqua Rohanee Cox Hollie Grima Kristi Harrower Lauren Jackson Erin Phillips Emma Randall Jenni Screen Belinda Snell Laura Summerton Penny Taylor | Russia (RUS) Svetlana Abrosimova Becky Hammon Marina Karpunina Ilona Korstin Marina Kuzina Ekaterina Lisina Irina Osipova Oxana Rakhmatulina Tatiana Shchegoleva Irina Sokolovskaya Maria Stepanova Natalia Vodopyanova |

### Medal count

| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | United States (USA) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2 | Australia (AUS) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2 | Spain (ESP) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | Argentina (ARG) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 4 | Russia (RUS) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (5 entries) | Totals (5 entries) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |

## Flag bearers

Basketball players that carried their flags at the opening ceremony were Yao Ming (for the People's Republic of China), Šarūnas Jasikevičius (for Lithuania), Dirk Nowitzki (for Germany), Andrei Kirilenko (for the Russian Federation), and Manu Ginóbili (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 or FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Women to determine the final spots in Beijing.
Italicized teams qualified via the wildcard tournaments.

### Basketball – Men

| Africa | Americas | Asia | Europe | Oceania | Automatic qualifiers |
| Angola | United States Argentina | Iran | Russia Lithuania Croatia Greece Germany | Australia | Spain – World champions China – Olympic hosts |

### Basketball – Women

| Africa | Americas | Asia | Europe | Oceania | Automatic qualifiers |
| Mali | United States Brazil | South Korea | Russia Spain Czech Rep. Latvia Belarus | New Zealand | Australia – World champions China – Olympic hosts |

## 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 (not the goal difference) between the tied teams
* Goal average of the tied teams for all teams in its group

## Calendar

| Preliminary round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | M | Event finals |
| August | 9th S | 10th S | 11th M | 12th T | 13th W | 14th T | 15th F | 16th S | 17th S | 18th M | 19th T | 20th W | 21st T | 22nd F | 23rd S | 24th S | Gold medals |
| Men | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | M | 1 |
| Women | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | M | | 1 |

## Rosters

Each team is limited to twelve players on its roster.

## Men
### Preliminary round

* Qualified for the quarterfinals
The four best teams from each group advanced to the quarterfinal round.

#### Group A

| Team | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| Lithuania | 4 | 1 | 425 | 400 | +25 | 9 |
| Argentina | 4 | 1 | 425 | 361 | +64 | 9 |
| Croatia | 3 | 2 | 399 | 380 | +19 | 8 |
| Australia | 3 | 2 | 457 | 405 | +52 | 8 |
| Russia | 1 | 4 | 387 | 406 | −19 | 6 |
| Iran | 0 | 5 | 323 | 464 | −141 | 5 |
| August 10, 2008 |
| Russia | 71 – 49 | Iran |
| Lithuania | 79 – 75 | Argentina |
| Australia | 82 – 97 | Croatia |
| August 12, 2008 |
| Iran | 67 – 99 | Lithuania |
| Croatia | 85 – 78 | Russia |
| Argentina | 85 – 68 | Australia |
| August 14, 2008 |
| Australia | 106 – 68 | Iran |
| Lithuania | 86 – 79 | Russia |
| Argentina | 77 – 53 | Croatia |
| August 16, 2008 |
| Russia | 80 – 95 | Australia |
| Croatia | 73 – 86 | Lithuania |
| Iran | 82 – 97 | Argentina |
| August 18, 2008 |
| Iran | 57 – 91 | Croatia |
| Australia | 106 – 75 | Lithuania |
| Argentina | 91 – 79 | Russia |

#### Group B

| Team | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| United States | 5 | 0 | 515 | 354 | +161 | 10 |
| Spain | 4 | 1 | 418 | 369 | +49 | 9 |
| Greece | 3 | 2 | 415 | 375 | +40 | 8 |
| China | 2 | 3 | 366 | 400 | −34 | 7 |
| Germany | 1 | 4 | 330 | 390 | −60 | 6 |
| Angola | 0 | 5 | 321 | 477 | −156 | 5 |
| 2008-08-10 |
| Germany | 95 – 66 | Angola |
| Spain | 81 – 66 | Greece |
| United States | 101 – 70 | China |
| 2008-08-12 |
| Greece | 87 – 64 | Germany |
| China | 75 – 85 (OT) | Spain |
| Angola | 76 – 97 | United States |
| 2008-08-14 |
| Germany | 59 – 72 | Spain |
| Angola | 68 – 85 | China |
| United States | 92 – 69 | Greece |
| 2008-08-16 |
| Greece | 102 – 61 | Angola |
| China | 59 – 55 | Germany |
| Spain | 82 – 119 | United States |
| 2008-08-18 |
| Greece | 91 – 77 | China |
| Angola | 50 – 98 | Spain |
| United States | 106 – 57 | Germany |

### Tournament bracket

| Quarterfinals (2008-08-20) | Quarterfinals (2008-08-20) | Quarterfinals (2008-08-20) | Semifinals (2008-08-22) | Semifinals (2008-08-22) | Semifinals (2008-08-22) | Gold medal game (2008-08-24) | Gold medal game (2008-08-24) | Gold medal game (2008-08-24) |
| A2 | Argentina | 80 | | | | | | |
| B3 | Greece | 78 | | | | | | |
| B3 | Greece | 78 | A2 | Argentina | 81 | | | |
| | | | B1 | United States | 101 | | | |
| B1 | United States | 116 | B1 | United States | 101 | | | |
| A4 | Australia | 85 | | | | | | |
| A4 | Australia | 85 | | | | B1 | United States | 118 |
| | | | | | | B2 | Spain | 107 |
| B2 | Spain | 72 | | | | | | | B2 | Spain | 107 |
| A3 | Croatia | 59 | | | |
| A3 | Croatia | 59 | B2 | Spain | 91 | Bronze medal game | Bronze medal game | Bronze medal game |
| | | | A1 | Lithuania | 86 |
| A1 | Lithuania | 94 | A1 | Lithuania | 86 | A2 | Argentina | 87 |
| B4 | China | 68 | | | | A1 | Lithuania | 75 |

## Women
### Preliminary round

* Qualified for the quarterfinals
The four best teams from each group advanced to the quarterfinal round.

#### Group A

| Team | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| Australia | 5 | 0 | 349 | 264 | +85 | 10 |
| Russia | 4 | 1 | 278 | 258 | +20 | 9 |
| Belarus | 2 | 3 | 320 | 332 | −12 | 7 |
| South Korea | 2 | 3 | 352 | 360 | −8 | 7 |
| Latvia | 1 | 4 | 266 | 315 | −49 | 6 |
| Brazil | 1 | 4 | 337 | 354 | −17 | 6 |
| 2008-08-09 |
| Belarus | 64 – 83 | Australia |
| South Korea | 68 – 62 (OT) | Brazil |
| Latvia | 57 – 62 | Russia |
| 2008-08-11 |
| South Korea | 72 – 77 | Russia |
| Latvia | 57 – 79 | Belarus |
| Australia | 80 – 65 | Brazil |
| 2008-08-13 |
| Belarus | 65 – 71 | Russia |
| Brazil | 78 – 79 | Latvia |
| South Korea | 62 – 90 | Australia |
| 2008-08-15 |
| Latvia | 73 – 96 | Australia |
| Russia | 74 – 64 | Brazil |
| South Korea | 53 – 63 | Belarus |
| 2008-08-17 |
| Australia | 75 – 55 | Russia |
| South Korea | 72 – 68 | Latvia |
| Brazil | 68 – 53 | Belarus |

#### Group B

| Team | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| United States | 5 | 0 | 491 | 276 | +215 | 10 |
| China | 4 | 1 | 358 | 346 | +12 | 9 |
| Spain | 3 | 2 | 357 | 324 | +33 | 8 |
| Czech Republic | 2 | 3 | 346 | 356 | −10 | 7 |
| New Zealand | 1 | 4 | 320 | 423 | −103 | 6 |
| Mali | 0 | 5 | 255 | 402 | −147 | 5 |
| 2008-08-09 |
| Mali | 72 – 76 | New Zealand |
| China | 67 – 64 | Spain |
| Czech Republic | 57 – 97 | United States |
| 2008-08-11 |
| New Zealand | 62 – 85 | Spain |
| Czech Republic | 81 – 47 | Mali |
| China | 63 – 108 | United States |
| 2008-08-13 |
| Spain | 74 – 55 | Czech Republic |
| China | 80 – 63 | New Zealand |
| Mali | 41 – 97 | United States |
| 2008-08-15 |
| Czech Republic | 90 – 59 | New Zealand |
| China | 69 –48 | Mali |
| United States | 93–55 | Spain |
| 2008-08-17 |
| Mali | 47 – 79 | Spain |
| China | 79 – 63 | Czech Republic |
| New Zealand | 60 – 96 | United States |

### Tournament bracket

| Quarterfinals (2008-08-19) | Quarterfinals (2008-08-19) | Quarterfinals (2008-08-19) | Semifinals (2008-08-21) | Semifinals (2008-08-21) | Semifinals (2008-08-21) | Gold medal game (2008-08-23) | Gold medal game (2008-08-23) | Gold medal game (2008-08-23) |
| A2 | Russia | 84 | | | | | | |
| B3 | Spain | 65 | | | | | | |
| B3 | Spain | 65 | A2 | Russia | 52 | | | |
| | | | B1 | United States | 67 | | | |
| B1 | United States | 104 | B1 | United States | 67 | | | |
| A4 | South Korea | 60 | | | | | | |
| A4 | South Korea | 60 | | | | B1 | United States | 92 |
| | | | | | | A1 | Australia | 65 |
| B2 | China | 77 | | | | | | | A1 | Australia | 65 |
| A3 | Belarus | 62 | | | |
| A3 | Belarus | 62 | B2 | China | 56 | Bronze medal game | Bronze medal game | Bronze medal game |
| | | | A1 | Australia | 90 |
| A1 | Australia | 79 | A1 | Australia | 90 | A2 | Russia | 94 |
| B4 | Czech Republic | 46 | | | | B2 | China | 81 |

## Final standings

| Rank | Men | Men | Men | Men | Women | Women | Women | Women |
| Rank | Team | Pld | W | L | Team | Pld | W | L |
| | United States | 8 | 8 | 0 | United States | 8 | 8 | 0 |
| | Spain | 8 | 6 | 2 | Australia | 8 | 7 | 1 |
| | Argentina | 8 | 6 | 2 | Russia | 8 | 6 | 2 |
| 4th | Lithuania | 8 | 5 | 3 | China | 8 | 5 | 3 |
| Eliminated at the quarterfinals |||||||||
| 5th | Greece | 6 | 3 | 3 | Spain | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| 6th | Croatia | 6 | 3 | 3 | Belarus | 6 | 2 | 4 |
| 7th | Australia | 6 | 3 | 3 | Czech Republic | 6 | 2 | 4 |
| 8th | China | 6 | 2 | 4 | South Korea | 6 | 2 | 4 |
| Preliminary round 5th placers |||||||||
| 9th | Russia | 5 | 1 | 4 | Latvia | 5 | 1 | 4 |
| 10th | Germany | 5 | 1 | 4 | New Zealand | 5 | 1 | 4 |
| Preliminary round 6th placers |||||||||
| 11th | Iran | 5 | 0 | 5 | Brazil | 5 | 1 | 4 |
| 12th | Angola | 5 | 0 | 5 | Mali | 5 | 0 | 5 |