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 118âÂÂ107 for the gold medal. All games were held at the Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium.The United States, nicknamed the "Redeem Team", defeated Spain in the gold medal game, finishing the tournament undefeated and winning the gold medal for the first time since 2000, while Argentina, the defending Olympic champions who lost to the U.S. in the semifinals, won the bronze medal.
Ties are broken via the following the criteria, with the first option used first, all the way down to the last option:
All times are local Beijing Time (UTC+8).
<small>All times are China Standard Time (UTC+8)</small>
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The Americans got off to a slow start with the Spaniards hitting seven of their first nine shots; if not for a 10âÂÂ0 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 103âÂÂ92 but Spain had a final push, capped with another three-pointer from Carlos Jiménez to reduce the lead to 108âÂÂ104. 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.
Top ten in points, rebounds and assists, and top 5 in steals and blocks.
Rankings are determined by: