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 GGroup stage¼Quarter-finals½Semi-finalsCClassification matchesBBronze medal matchFFinal Sat 17 Sun 18 Mon 19 Tue 20 Wed 21 Thu 22 Fri 23 Sat 24 Sun 25 Mon 26 Tue 27 Wed 28 Thu 29 Fri 30G 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 Host nation 30 September 1981 Baden-Baden 1 1987 FIBA Oceania Championship 31 August – 4 September 1987 Timaru Christchurch 1 FIBA Africa Championship 1987 17–27 December 1987 Tunis 2 1988 Tournament of the Americas 22–31 May 1988 Montevideo 3 European qualifying tournament July 1988 Netherlands 3 1987 ABC Championship 14–27 November 1987 Bangkok 1 Total 12
Squads
Each NOC was limited to one team per tournament. Each team had a roster of twelve players.
Group stage
Group A
Group B
Knockout stage Championship bracket
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Bronze medal game
Gold medal game
Classification round
5th–8th Place
9th–12th Place
Classification 5–8 semifinals
Classification 7–8
Classification 5–6
Classification 9–12 semifinals
Classification 11–12
Classification 9–10
Awards 1988 Olympic Basketball Champions Soviet Union Second title
Final ranking Rankings are determined by classification games:
Rank Team Pld W L PF PA PDGold medal game participants 8 7 1 728 637 +91 8 6 2 717 603 +114Bronze medal game participants 8 7 1 733 490 +243 4th 8 4 4 625 651 −26Eliminated at the quarterfinals 5th 8 5 3 905 808 +97 6th 8 3 5 738 747 −9 7th 8 4 4 618 677 −59 8th 8 4 4 741 701 +40Eliminated at the preliminary round 9th 7 2 5 566 632 −66 10th 7 2 5 490 582 −92 11th 7 2 5 620 695 −75 12th 7 0 7 470 728 −258
References
Official Olympic Report USA Basketball 1988 Olympic Games: Tournament for Men, FIBA Archive