McDonald's Championship
| Sport |
Basketball |
| Founded |
1987 |
| No. of teams |
8 |
| Country(ies) |
Worldwide |
| Ceased |
1999 |
| Last champion(s) |
 San Antonio Spurs |
The McDonald's Championship (sometimes called the McDonald's Open) was an international men's basketball cup competition played between the champions of the continental club competitions and an NBA invitee. The McDonald's Championship succeeded the Intercontinental Cup.
In each of the nine years the McDonald's Championship was held the title was won by a team from the NBA, but twice by a close margin. The first time was in the semifinals in 1990, when the New York Knicks trailed Italian club Scavolini Pesaro by three points (107-104) with only 30 seconds on the clock. After successfully defending, the Knicks won possession and Gerald Wilkins netted a three-pointer with eight seconds remaining to send the game into overtime. The other close game came the following year in 1991, when the Los Angeles Lakers defeated Spanish champions Joventut Badalona by just two points (116-114).
The McDonald's Championship was discontinued after 1999, but the FIBA World Club Championship was set to open in 2010 and will be similarly contested by all the continental champions. Although no team from the NBA will be invited in 2010, FIBA intends to invite the NBA winner in subsequent years.[1]
[edit] Format
After the first tournament (3 teams championship format), the competition was disputed in a single elimination format, with the winners of the matches advancing to the next round.
The competition combined rules of both the NBA and the European leagues. [2]
[edit] List of champions
[edit] Titles by team
[edit] Titles by country
[edit] References
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
San Antonio Spurs
