# Basketball at the 1988 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament

The men's tournament in basketball at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul began on 17 September and ended on 30 September.
The Soviet Union won its second gold medal, defeating Yugoslavia 76–63 in the gold medal match.
This was the last Olympic basketball tournament where NBA players were not allowed to participate; FIBA instituted a rule change in 1989 that lifted that restriction, leading to the dominance of 1992's Dream Team.

## Competition schedule

| G | Group stage | ¼ | Quarter-finals | ½ | Semi-finals | C | Classification matches | B | Bronze medal match | F | Final |
| Sat 17 | Sun 18 | Mon 19 | Tue 20 | Wed 21 | Thu 22 | Fri 23 | Sat 24 | Sun 25 | Mon 26 | Mon 26 | Tue 27 | Wed 28 | Wed 28 | Thu 29 | Thu 29 | Fri 30 | Fri 30 |
| G | G | | G | G | | G | G | | C | ¼ | | C | ½ | C | B | C | F |

## Qualification

A NOC could enter one men's team with 12 players. Automatic qualifications were granted to the host country and the winners from the previous edition. The remaining teams were decided by the continental championships in Asia, Oceania, Africa and Americas and European qualifying tournament. Champions of Asia and Oceania, top two teams from Africa and top three from Americas earned direct qualification. Last three berths are allocated from European qualifying tournament, held in Netherlands.
| Means of qualification | Date | Venue | Berths | Qualified |
| 1984 Summer Olympics | 29 July – 10 August 1984 | Los Angeles | 1 | United States |
| Host nation | 30 September 1981 | Baden-Baden | 1 | South Korea |
| 1987 FIBA Oceania Championship | 31 August – 4 September 1987 | Timaru Christchurch | 1 | Australia |
| FIBA Africa Championship 1987 | 17–27 December 1987 | Tunis | 2 | Central African Republic |
| FIBA Africa Championship 1987 | 17–27 December 1987 | Tunis | 2 | Egypt |
| 1988 Tournament of the Americas | 22–31 May 1988 | Montevideo | 3 | Brazil |
| 1988 Tournament of the Americas | 22–31 May 1988 | Montevideo | 3 | Puerto Rico |
| 1988 Tournament of the Americas | 22–31 May 1988 | Montevideo | 3 | Canada |
| European qualifying tournament | July 1988 | Netherlands | 3 | Soviet Union |
| European qualifying tournament | July 1988 | Netherlands | 3 | Yugoslavia |
| European qualifying tournament | July 1988 | Netherlands | 3 | Spain |
| 1987 ABC Championship | 14–27 November 1987 | Bangkok | 1 | China |
| Total | | | 12 | |

## Squads

Each NOC was limited to one team per tournament. Each team had a roster of twelve players.

## Group stage
### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Yugoslavia | 5 | 4 | 1 | 468 | 384 | +84 | 9 | Quarterfinals |
| 2 | Soviet Union | 5 | 4 | 1 | 460 | 393 | +67 | 9 | Quarterfinals |
| 3 | Australia | 5 | 3 | 2 | 429 | 408 | +21 | 8 | Quarterfinals |
| 4 | Puerto Rico | 5 | 3 | 2 | 382 | 387 | −5 | 8 | Quarterfinals |
| 5 | Central African Republic | 5 | 1 | 4 | 346 | 436 | −90 | 6 | 9th–12th classification round |
| 6 | South Korea (H) | 5 | 0 | 5 | 384 | 461 | −77 | 5 | 9th–12th classification round |
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: Yugoslavia 1–0 Soviet Union
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: Australia 1–0 Puerto Rico
* 18 September 1988
| Australia | 81–77 | Puerto Rico |
| Scoring by half: 50–36, 31–41 |||
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
* 18 September 1988
| Central African Republic | 73–70 | South Korea |
| Scoring by half: 47–30, 26–40 |||
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
* 18 September 1988
| Soviet Union | 79–92 | Yugoslavia |
| Scoring by half: 33–39, 46–53 |||
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
* 20 September 1988
| South Korea | 74–79 | Puerto Rico |
| Scoring by half: 30–38, 44–41 |||
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
* 20 September 1988
| Central African Republic | 61–102 | Yugoslavia |
| Scoring by half: 21–51, 40–51 |||
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
* 20 September 1988
| Australia | 69–91 | Soviet Union |
| Scoring by half: 35–53, 34–38 |||
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
* 21 September 1988
| South Korea | 92–104 | Yugoslavia |
| Scoring by half: 46–48, 46–56 |||
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
* 21 September 1988
| Puerto Rico | 81–93 (OT) | Soviet Union |
| Scoring by half: 39–37, 37–39 Overtime: 5–17 |||
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
* 21 September 1988
| Australia | 106–67 | Central African Republic |
| Scoring by half: 57–35, 49–32 |||
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
* 23 September 1988
| Central African Republic | 67–71 | Puerto Rico |
| Scoring by half: 41–27, 26–34 |||
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
* 23 September 1988
| South Korea | 73–110 | Soviet Union |
| Scoring by half: 38–59, 35–51 |||
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
* 23 September 1988
| Australia | 78–98 | Yugoslavia |
| Scoring by half: 43–52, 35–46 |||
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
* 24 September 1988
| Australia | 95–75 | South Korea |
| Scoring by half: 51–39, 44–36 |||
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
* 24 September 1988
| Central African Republic | 78–87 | Soviet Union |
| Scoring by half: 31–40, 47–47 |||
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
* 24 September 1988
| Puerto Rico | 74–72 | Yugoslavia |
| Scoring by half: 36–37, 38–35 |||
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | United States | 5 | 5 | 0 | 485 | 302 | +183 | 10 | Quarterfinals |
| 2 | Spain | 5 | 4 | 1 | 484 | 435 | +49 | 9 | Quarterfinals |
| 3 | Brazil | 5 | 3 | 2 | 590 | 522 | +68 | 8 | Quarterfinals |
| 4 | Canada | 5 | 2 | 3 | 479 | 455 | +24 | 7 | Quarterfinals |
| 5 | China | 5 | 1 | 4 | 433 | 527 | −94 | 6 | 9th–12th classification round |
| 6 | Egypt | 5 | 0 | 5 | 338 | 568 | −230 | 5 | 9th–12th classification round |
* 17 September 1988
| China | 98–84 | Egypt |
| Scoring by half: 47–43, 51–41 |||
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
* 17 September 1988
| Brazil | 125–109 | Canada |
| Scoring by half: 56–45, 69–64 |||
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
* 18 September 1988
| Spain | 53–97 | United States |
| Scoring by half: 32–48, 21–49 |||
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
* 20 September 1988
| Brazil | 130–108 | China |
| Scoring by half: 72–61, 58–47 |||
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
* 20 September 1988
| Canada | 70–76 | United States |
| Scoring by half: 42–40, 28–36 |||
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
* 20 September 1988
| Egypt | 70–113 | Spain |
| Scoring by half: 44–57, 26–56 |||
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
* 21 September 1988
| Brazil | 87–102 | United States |
| Scoring by half: 55–63, 32–39 |||
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
* 21 September 1988
| Canada | 117–64 | Egypt |
| Scoring by half: 61–32, 56–32 |||
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
* 21 September 1988
| China | 74–106 | Spain |
| Scoring by half: 43–59, 31–57 |||
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
* 23 September 1988
| Canada | 84–94 | Spain |
| Scoring by half: 51–45, 33–49 |||
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
* 23 September 1988
| Brazil | 138–85 | Egypt |
| Scoring by half: 66–38, 72–47 |||
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
* 23 September 1988
| China | 57–108 | United States |
| Scoring by half: 26–59, 31–49 |||
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
* 24 September 1988
| Canada | 99–96 | China |
| Scoring by half: 56–52, 43–44 |||
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
* 24 September 1988
| Egypt | 35–102 | United States |
| Scoring by half: 21–62, 14–40 |||
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
* 24 September 1988
| Brazil | 110–118 | Spain |
| Scoring by half: 57–61, 53–57 |||
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul

## Knockout stage
### Championship bracket

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | | Gold medal match | Gold medal match |
| September 26 | September 26 | | | |
| (A1) Yugoslavia | 95 | | | |
| (A1) Yugoslavia | 95 | September 28 | September 28 | | |
| (B4) Canada | 73 | September 28 | September 28 | |
| (B4) Canada | 73 | (A1) Yugoslavia | 91 | |
| September 26 | September 26 | | (A1) Yugoslavia | 91 | |
| September 26 | September 26 | (A3) Australia | 70 | |
| (B2) Spain | 74 | (A3) Australia | 70 | |
| (B2) Spain | 74 | | | | September 30 | September 30 |
| (A3) Australia | 77 | | | | September 30 | September 30 |
| (A3) Australia | 77 | | | | (A1) Yugoslavia | 63 |
| September 26 | September 26 | | | | | (A1) Yugoslavia | 63 |
| September 26 | September 26 | | | | (A2) Soviet Union | 76 |
| (B1) United States | 94 | | | | (A2) Soviet Union | 76 |
| (B1) United States | 94 | September 28 | September 28 | | | |
| (A4) Puerto Rico | 57 | September 28 | September 28 | | | |
| (A4) Puerto Rico | 57 | (B1) United States | 76 | | | |
| September 26 | September 26 | | (B1) United States | 76 | | | |
| September 26 | September 26 | (A2) Soviet Union | 82 | | Third place | Third place |
| (A2) Soviet Union | 110 | (A2) Soviet Union | 82 | | Third place | Third place |
| (A2) Soviet Union | 110 | | | | September 29 | September 29 |
| (B3) Brazil | 105 | | | | September 29 | September 29 |
| (B3) Brazil | 105 | | | | (A3) Australia | 49 |
| | | | | | (B1) United States | 78 |

### Quarterfinals

* 26 September 1988 (1988-09-26) 21:30
* Boxscore
| Yugoslavia | 95–73 | Canada |
| Scoring by half: 40–26, 55–47 |||
| Pts: Divac 17 Rebs: Vranković 9 Asts: Cvjetićanin, Divac, Petrović 2 | | Pts: Walton 17 Rebs: Mungar, Walton 7 Asts: Hatch 2 |
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
* 26 September 1988 (1988-09-26) 16:30
* Boxscore
| Spain | 74–77 | Australia |
| Scoring by half: 40–41, 34–36 |||
| Pts: San Epifanio 17 Rebs: Martínez, Jiménez 7 Asts: Montero 3 | | Pts: Gaze 28 Rebs: Sengstock 5 Asts: 4 players 1 |
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
* 26 September 1988 11:45
* Boxscore
| United States | 94–57 | Puerto Rico |
| Scoring by half: 48–28, 46–29 |||
| Pts: Manning 18 Rebs: Manning 7 Asts: C.D. Smith 3 | | Pts: Cruz 12 Rebs: Mincy 8 Asts: Cruz 4 |
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
* 26 September 1988 19:30
* Boxscore
| Soviet Union | 110–105 | Brazil |
| Scoring by half: 53–58, 57–47 |||
| Pts: Kurtinaitis 24 Rebs: Sabonis 9 Asts: Sabonis, Tarakanov, Volkov 2 | | Pts: Schmidt 46 Rebs: Israel 11 Asts: Maury 5 |
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul

### Semifinals

* 28 September 1988 (1988-09-28)
* Boxscore
| Yugoslavia | 91–70 | Australia |
| Scoring by half: 44–31, 47–39 |||
| Pts: Petrović 24 Rebs: Divac 10 Asts: Petrović 3 | | Pts: Gaze 27 Rebs: Borner, Vlahov 4 Asts: Sengstock 4 |
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
* 28 September 1988 (1988-09-28) 12:00
* Boxscore
| United States | 76–82 | Soviet Union |
| Scoring by half: 37–47, 39–35 |||
| Pts: Robinson 19 Rebs: Robinson 12 Asts: Coles 2 | | Pts: Kurtinaitis 28 Rebs: Sabonis 13 Asts: Volkov 5 |
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul

### Bronze medal game

* 29 September 1988 (1988-09-29) 21:30
* Boxscore
| Australia | 49–78 | United States |
| Scoring by half: 29–52, 20–26 |||
| Pts: Gaze 17 Rebs: Sengstock 6 Asts: Smyth 2 | | Pts: Majerle, Richmond, Robinson 12 Rebs: Richmond, Robinson 7 Asts: Richmond 2 |
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul

### Gold medal game

* 30 September 1988 (1988-09-30)
* Boxscore
| Yugoslavia | 63–76 | Soviet Union |
| Scoring by half: 28–31, 35–45 |||
| Pts: Petrović 24 Rebs: Divac 7 Asts: Petrović 4 | | Pts: Marčiulionis 21 Rebs: Sabonis 15 Asts: Marčiulionis 6 |
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul

### Classification round

5th–8th Place
| September 28 | September 28 | September 28 | 5th place (September 30) | 5th place (September 30) | 5th place (September 30) |
| B3 | Brazil | 104 | | | |
| A4 | Puerto Rico | 86 | | | |
| A4 | Puerto Rico | 86 | B3 | Brazil | 106 |
| | | | B4 | Canada | 90 |
| B4 | Canada | 96 | B4 | Canada | 90 |
| B2 | Spain | 91 | 7th place (September 29) | 7th place (September 29) | 7th place (September 29) |
| | | | A4 | Puerto Rico | 93 |
| | | | B2 | Spain | 92 |
9th–12th Place
| September 26 | September 26 | September 26 | 9th place (September 29) | 9th place (September 29) | 9th place (September 29) |
| A5 | Central Afr. Rep. | 63 | | | |
| B6 | Egypt | 57 | | | |
| B6 | Egypt | 57 | A5 | Central Afr. Rep. | 81 |
| | | | A6 | South Korea | 89 |
| B5 | China | 90 | A6 | South Korea | 89 |
| A6 | South Korea | 93 | 11th place (September 29) | 11th place (September 29) | 11th place (September 29) |
| | | | B6 | Egypt | 75 |
| | | | B5 | China | 97 |
Classification 5–8 semifinals
* 28 September 1988 9:45
* Boxscore
| Brazil | 104–86 | Puerto Rico |
| Scoring by half: 51–39, 53–47 |||
| Pts: Schmidt 46 Rebs: Schmidt 9 Asts: Guerrinha 7 | | Pts: E. de León 19 Rebs: E. de León 10 Asts: Cruz 2 |
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
* 28 September 1988 (1988-09-28) 14:30
* Boxscore
| Canada | 96–91 | Spain |
| Scoring by half: 41–42, 55–49 |||
| Pts: Triano 27 Rebs: Raffin 8 Asts: Raffin 4 | | Pts: Jiménez 16 Rebs: Jiménez 6 Asts: Solozábal 5 |
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
Classification 7–8
* 29 September 1988 19:30
* Boxscore
| Puerto Rico | 93–92 | Spain |
| Scoring by half: 47–45, 46–47 |||
| Pts: Morales 25 Rebs: Ortíz, Mincy 8 Asts: Ortíz 4 | | Pts: Jiménez 31 Rebs: Jiménez 8 Asts: Solozábal 6 |
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
Classification 5–6
* 30 September 1988 09:45
* Boxscore
| Brazil | 106–90 | Canada |
| Scoring by half: 43–39, 63–51 |||
| Pts: Schmidt 41 Rebs: Pipoka 17 Asts: Villas Boas, Schmidt 2 | | Pts: Triano 29 Rebs: Hatch 10 Asts: Yearwood 3 |
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
Classification 9–12 semifinals
* 26 September 1988 (1988-09-26) 09:45
* Boxscore
| Central African Republic | 63–57 | Egypt |
| Scoring by half: 33–31, 30–26 |||
| Pts: F. Goporo, Bella 15 Rebs: Lavodrama 16 Asts: Lavodrama 7 | | Pts: Khalil 17 Rebs: Khalil 8 Asts: Amir 4 |
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
* 26 September 1988 09:45
* Boxscore
| China | 90–93 | South Korea |
| Scoring by half: 48–47, 42–46 |||
| Pts: Li 22 Rebs: Wang L. 7 Asts: Li 2 | | Pts: Kim HJ 17 Rebs: Kim YT 12 Asts: Kim HJ, Kim YT, Yoo 2 |
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
Classification 11–12
* 29 September 1988 (1988-09-29) 14:30
* Boxscore
| Egypt | 75–97 | China |
| Scoring by half: 42–56, 33–41 |||
| Pts: Khalil 26 Rebs: Moussa 6 Asts: Moussa, Sedky 1 | | Pts: Zhang Y. 33 Rebs: Song 12 Asts: Sun, Wang L., Zhang Y. 3 |
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
Classification 9–10
* 29 September 1988 16:30
* Boxscore
| Central African Republic | 81–89 | South Korea |
| Scoring by half: 41–43, 40–46 |||
| Pts: Lavodrama 14 Rebs: Lavodrama 12 Asts: Kotta 3 | | Pts: Lee CH 31 Rebs: Lee MK 8 Asts: Kim HJ 6 |
* Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul

## Awards

* 1988 Olympic Basketball Champions
* Soviet Union Second title

## Final ranking

Rankings are determined by classification games:
| Rank | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD |
| Gold medal game participants ||||||||
| | Soviet Union | 8 | 7 | 1 | 728 | 637 | +91 |
| | Yugoslavia | 8 | 6 | 2 | 717 | 603 | +114 |
| Bronze medal game participants ||||||||
| | United States | 8 | 7 | 1 | 733 | 490 | +243 |
| 4th | Australia | 8 | 4 | 4 | 625 | 651 | −26 |
| Eliminated at the quarterfinals ||||||||
| 5th | Brazil | 8 | 5 | 3 | 905 | 808 | +97 |
| 6th | Canada | 8 | 3 | 5 | 738 | 747 | −9 |
| 7th | Puerto Rico | 8 | 4 | 4 | 618 | 677 | −59 |
| 8th | Spain | 8 | 4 | 4 | 741 | 701 | +40 |
| Eliminated at the preliminary round ||||||||
| 9th | South Korea | 7 | 2 | 5 | 566 | 632 | −66 |
| 10th | Central African Republic | 7 | 2 | 5 | 490 | 582 | −92 |
| 11th | China | 7 | 2 | 5 | 620 | 695 | −75 |
| 12th | Egypt | 7 | 0 | 7 | 470 | 728 | −258 |