Basketball at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament

The men's basketball tournament at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, began on 10 August and ended on 24 August, when the United States defeated Spain 118–107 for the gold medal. All games were held at the Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium.

Format

 * Twelve teams are split into 2 preliminary round groups of 6 teams each. The top 4 teams from each group qualify for the knockout stage.
 * Fifth-placed teams from each group are ranked 9th–10th by basis of their records.
 * Sixth-placed teams from each group 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 play for the gold medal. The losing teams play for the bronze.

Ties are broken via the following the criteria, with the first option used first, all the way down to the last option:
 * 1) Head to head results
 * 2) Goal average (not the goal difference) between the tied teams
 * 3) Goal average of the tied teams for all teams in its group

All times are local Beijing Time (UTC+8).

Preliminary round
All times are China Standard Time (UTC+8)

Group A
   

  

 <section begin=A8 /><section end=A8 /> <section begin=A9 /><section end=A9 />

<section begin=A10 /><section end=A10 /> <section begin=A11 /><section end=A11 /> <section begin=A12 /><section end=A12 />

<section begin=A13 /><section end=A13 /> <section begin=A14 /><section end=A14 /> <section begin=A15 /><section end=A15 />

Group B
<section begin=B /><section end=B /> <section begin=B1 /><section end=B1 /> <section begin=B2 /><section end=B2 /> <section begin=B3 /><section end=B3 />

<section begin=B4 /><section end=B4 /> <section begin=B5 /><section end=B5 /> <section begin=B6 /><section end=B6 />

<section begin=B7 /><section end=B7 /> <section begin=B8 /><section end=B8 /> <section begin=B9 /><section end=B9 />

<section begin=B10 /><section end=B10 /> <section begin=B11 /><section end=B11 /> <section begin=B12 /><section end=B12 />

<section begin=B13 /><section end=B13 /> <section begin=B14 /><section end=B14 /> <section begin=B15 /><section end=B15 />

Knockout round
<section begin=Bracket /><section end=Bracket />

Quarterfinals
<section begin=C1 /><section end=C1 /> <section begin=C2 /><section end=C2 /> <section begin=C3 /><section end=C3 /> <section begin=C4 /><section end=C4 />

Semifinals
<section begin=D1 /><section end=D1 /> <section begin=D2 /><section end=D2 />

Bronze medal match
<section begin=E1 /><section end=E1 />

Gold medal match
<section begin=E2 /><section end=E2 />

The Americans got off to a start with the Spaniards hitting seven of their first nine shots; if not for a 10–0 run by LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, the Americans would have trailed in the first quarter. With the USA leading by 14, Spain chipped away at the lead during the second quarter to cut the deficit to eight points.

The teams traded baskets in the third quarter, with Spain cutting the deficit further to seven. A three-point field goal by Rudy Fernández cut the lead into two, the smallest deficit with 8:13 left in the fourth. Kobe Bryant and Wade extended the lead with three-pointers to 103–92 but Spain had a final push, capped with another three-pointer from Carlos Jiménez to reduce the lead to 108–104. In the final two minutes a three-pointer by Dwyane Wade and a Kobe Bryant field goal extended the lead back to 9. It is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball games ever played.

Statistical leaders
Top ten in points, rebounds and assists, and top 5 in steals and blocks.

Final standings
Rankings are determined by:
 * 1st–4th
 * Results of gold and bronze medal games.
 * 5th–8th:
 * Win–loss record in the preliminary round group
 * Standings in the preliminary round group (i.e. Group A's #3 is ranked higher than Group B's #4.)
 * Goal average in the preliminary round group
 * 9th–10th and 11th–12th:
 * 5th placers in the preliminary round groups are classified 9th–10th; 6th placers classified *11th–12th
 * Win–loss record in the preliminary round group
 * Goal average in the preliminary round group