2008 in basketball

Olympics

FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2008 at Athens

 Greece

 Croatia

 Germany

2008 Olympics at Beijing

Other tournaments

EuroBasket 2009 qualification

Olympics

FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Women 2008 at Madrid

 Spain

 Czech Republic

 Latvia

 Belarus

 Brazil

2008 Olympics at Beijing

Other tournaments

EuroBasket Women 2009 qualification

Intercontinental championships

Euroleague: CSKA Moscow def. Maccabi Tel Aviv 91-77 at the Madrid Sports Palace, Madrid.

ULEB Cup: DKV Joventut def. Akasvayu Girona 79-54 at Palavela, Turin.

Asia Champions Cup: Saba Battery def. Al-Rayyan 82-75 at Kuwait City.

Liga Sudamericana: Best-of-5 finals in a home-and-away series.

National championships

Men:

NBA

Season:

Western Conference: Los Angeles Lakers (57-25)

Eastern Conference and League: Boston Celtics (66-16)

Other Division champions: Detroit Pistons, New Orleans Hornets, Utah Jazz, Orlando Magic

Finals: The Boston Celtics defeat the Los Angeles Lakers 4-2 in the best-of-seven NBA Finals. Finals MVP: Paul Pierce

Liga Nacional de Básquet, 2007–08 season:

Regular season: Libertad

Playoffs: Libertad defeat Quimsa 4–0 in the best-of-seven final.

National Basketball League, 2007–08 season: The Melbourne Tigers defeat the Sydney Kings 3-2 in the best-of-five grand finals.

Chinese Basketball Association, 2007–08 season: The Guangdong Southern Tigers defeat the Liaoning Hunters 4-1 in the best-of-seven finals.

Croatian League:

French League: Nancy crush defending champions Chorale Roanne 84–53 in the one-off final.

German Bundesliga:

Greek League: Panathinaikos defeat Olympiacos 3–2 in the best-of-five final.

Iranian Super League, 2007–08 season: Mahram defeat Saba Battery 2–0 in the best-of-three final.

Israel Super League: Hapoel Holon defeat Maccabi Tel Aviv, the 14-time defending champions, 73–72 in the one-off final.

Italian Serie A: Montepaschi Siena defeat Lottomatica Roma 4-1 in the best-of-seven final.

Lithuanian LKL: Žalgiris defeat Lietuvos Rytas 4-1 in the best-of-seven final.

Montenegro League:

Philippine Basketball Association, 2007–08 season:

Philippine Cup: The Sta. Lucia Realtors defeat the Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants 4-3 in the best-of-seven finals. Finals MVP: Dennis Espino

Fiesta Conference: The Barangay Ginebra Kings defeat the Air21 Express 4-3 in the best-of-seven Finals. Finals MVPs: Ronald Tubid and Eric Menk

Polish League:

Russian Super League, 2007–08 season: CSKA Moscow sweep Dynamo Moscow 3–0 in the best-of-five final.

Serbia Super League:

Slovenian League: Union Olimpija defeat Helios Domžale 3-1 in the best-of-five finals.

Spanish ACB:

Season: Real Madrid

Playoffs: TAU Cerámica sweep AXA FC Barcelona 3–0 in the best-of-five final.

Turkish Basketball League:

British Basketball League, 2007–08:

Season:

Playoffs:

Adriatic League:

Women:

2008 WNBA Finals: Detroit Shock

EuroLeague Women 2007–08: Spartak Moscow Region

College

Men:

NCAA

Division I: Kansas 75, Memphis 68 OT

Most Outstanding Player: Mario Chalmers, Kansas

National Invitation Tournament:

Division II: Winona State (MN) 87, Augusta State (GA) 76

Division III: Washington University in St. Louis (MO) 90, Amherst 68

NAIA

NAIA Division I: Oklahoma City 75, Mountain State (WV) 72

NAIA Division II: Oregon Tech 63, Bellevue (NE) 56

NJCAA

Division I: South Plains College 67, Salt Lake CC 56

Division II: Mott Community College 83,Columb State Community College 73

Division III: North Lake College TX 73, Joliet Junior College IL 70

 Philippines

Philippine Collegiate Championship 2008: De La Salle University 71, Ateneo de Manila University 62

UAAP Men's: Ateneo de Manila University def. De La Salle University, 2-0 in the finals series

NCAA (Philippines) Seniors': San Beda College def. José Rizal University, 2-1 in the finals series

Women:

NCAA

Division I: Tennessee 64, Stanford 48

Most Outstanding Player: Candace Parker, Tennessee

WNIT: Marquette 81, Michigan State 66

Division II: Northern Kentucky 63, South Dakota 58

Division III: Howard Payne (TX) 68, Messiah (PA) 54

NAIA

NAIA Division I: Vanguard (CA) 72, Trevecca Nazarene (TN) 59

NAIA Division II: Northwestern College 82, College of the Ozarks MO 75

NJCAA

Division I: Gulf Coast 62, Central Arizona 61

Division II: Kirkwood 78 vs Kankakee 53 (Final)

Division III: Monroe CC NY 79, Mohawk Valley CC 48

UAAP Women's: Far Eastern University def. University of the Philippines, 2-0 in the finals series

Prep

USA Today Boys Basketball Ranking #1: St. Anthony High School (New Jersey), Jersey City, New Jersey

USA Today Girls Basketball Ranking #1: Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory, San Francisco, California

NCAA (Philippines) Juniors: San Sebastian College-Recoletos def. Colegio de San Juan de Letran, 2-0 in the finals series

UAAP Juniors: Ateneo High School def. De La Salle Zobel, 2-0 in the finals series

Basketball Hall of Fame

Class of 2008:

Players: Adrian Dantley, Patrick Ewing, Hakeem Olajuwon

Coaches: Pat Riley, Cathy Rush

Contributors: William Davidson, Dick Vitale

Women's Basketball Hall of Fame

Class of 2008

Debbie Ryan

Patty Broderick

Lin L. Laursen

Jill Rankin Schneider

Suzie McConnell-Serio

Michelle Timms

Professional

Men

NBA Most Valuable Player Award: Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers

NBA Rookie of the Year Award: Kevin Durant, Seattle SuperSonics

NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award: Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics

NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award: Manu Ginóbili, San Antonio Spurs

NBA Most Improved Player Award: Hedo Türkoğlu, Orlando Magic

NBA Coach of the Year Award: Byron Scott, New Orleans Hornets

FIBA Europe Player of the Year Award: Pau Gasol, Los Angeles Lakers and  Spain (also Memphis Grizzlies)

Euroscar Award: Pau Gasol, Los Angeles Lakers and Spain (also Memphis Grizzlies)

Mr. Europa: Ricky Rubio, Joventut Badalona and  Spain

Women

WNBA Most Valuable Player Award: Candace Parker, Los Angeles Sparks

WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award: Lisa Leslie, Los Angeles Sparks

WNBA Rookie of the Year Award: Candace Parker, Los Angeles Sparks

WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year Award: Candice Wiggins, Minnesota Lynx

WNBA Most Improved Player Award: Ebony Hoffman, Indiana Fever

Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award: Vickie Johnson, San Antonio Silver Stars

WNBA Coach of the Year Award: Mike Thibault, Connecticut Sun

WNBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award: Katie Smith, Detroit Shock

FIBA Europe Player of the Year Award: Maria Stepanova, CSKA Samara and  Russia

Collegiate

Combined

Legends of Coaching Award: Pat Summitt, Tennessee

Men

John R. Wooden Award: Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina

Naismith College Coach of the Year: John Calipari, Memphis

Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award: Mike Green, Butler

Associated Press College Basketball Player of the Year: Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina

NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player: Wayne Ellington, North Carolina

USBWA National Freshman of the Year: Michael Beasley, Kansas State

Associated Press College Basketball Coach of the Year: Keno Davis, Drake

Naismith Outstanding Contribution to Basketball: Dick Vitale

Women

John R. Wooden Award: Candace Parker, Tennessee

Naismith College Player of the Year: Candace Parker, Tennessee

Naismith College Coach of the Year: Geno Auriemma, Connecticut

Wade Trophy: Candice Wiggins, Stanford

Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award: Jolene Anderson, Wisconsin

Associated Press Women's College Basketball Player of the Year: Candace Parker, Tennessee

NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player: Candace Parker, Tennessee

Basketball Academic All-America Team: Candace Parker, Tennessee

Carol Eckman Award: Doug Bruno, DePaul University

Maggie Dixon Award: Jeff Walz, Louisville

USBWA National Freshman of the Year: Maya Moore, Connecticut

Associated Press College Basketball Coach of the Year: Geno Auriemma, Connecticut

List of Senior CLASS Award women's basketball winners: Candice Wiggins, Stanford

Nancy Lieberman Award: Kristi Toliver, Maryland

Naismith Outstanding Contribution to Basketball: Jody Conradt

Events

The Seattle SuperSonics relocated to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Movies

More than a Game

Semi-Pro – a screwball comedy film starring Will Ferrell, loosely based on the American Basketball Association in the 1970s.

Deaths

March 22 — Red Stroud, American ABA player (New Orleans Buccaneers) (born 1941)

March 25 — Ben Carnevale, American Hall of Fame coach of the Navy Midshipmen and North Carolina Tar Heels (born 1915)

April 1 — Marvin Stone, former Kentucky Wildcats and Louisville Cardinals player (born 1981)

April 9 — Art Spoelstra, American NBA player (Rochester Royals, Minneapolis Lakers, New York Knicks) (born 1932)

May 5 — Sam Aubrey, American college player and coach (Oklahoma State) (born 1922)

May 23 — Bob Knight, American professional basketball player (New York Knicks) (born 1929)

June 25 — A. L. Bennett, American college player (Oklahoma State) (born 1924)

July 15 — Gennadi Volnov, Russian (Soviet) Olympic gold medalist (1972) (born 1939)

August 20 — Larry Hennessy, American Villanova All-American (born 1929)

August 20 — Kevin Duckworth, American NBA All-Star with the Portland Trail Blazers (born 1964)

September 5 —Bob Cluggish, American BAA player (New York Knicks) (born 1917)

September 5 — Doyle Parrack, American college coach (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) (born 1921)

September 8 — Don Haskins, American Hall of Fame coach of the UTEP Miners, 1966 National Champions (born 1930)

September 19 — Ernie Andres, All-American college player (Indiana), NBL player (Indianapolis Kautskys) (born 1918)

November 17 — Pete Newell, American Hall of Fame coach of the California Golden Bears, 1959 National Champions (born 1915)