2007–08 NBA season
Appearance
![]() | This article documents a current sporting event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses. Initial news reports, scores, or statistics may be unreliable. The last updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. |
2007-08 NBA season | |
---|---|
League | National Basketball Association |
Sport | Basketball |
Duration | October 30, 2007-April 16, 2008 |
TV partner(s) | ABC, TNT, ESPN, NBA TV |
The 2007-08 NBA season is the 62nd season of the National Basketball Association. The 1,230-game regular season (82 games for each of the 30 teams) began on Tuesday, October 30, 2007, and will end on Wednesday, April 16, 2008. The NBA Playoffs will start on Saturday, April 19, 2008 and will run through mid-to-late June with the NBA Finals. The 2007 NBA Draft was held on June 28, 2007 and Greg Oden was selected first overall by the Portland Trail Blazers. However, he will miss the entire season due to knee surgery.[1]
Notable occurrences
- The 2008 NBA All-Star Game was played at the New Orleans Arena, the home of the New Orleans Hornets, on February 17, 2008 with the East winning 134-128 and Cleavland's LeBron James being named the MVP.
- The Hornets returned to New Orleans, Louisiana full-time, after splitting home games during the previous two seasons with New Orleans and Oklahoma City due to damage caused by Hurricane Katrina.
- The NBA extended its 6-year television contract with Time Warner's TNT and The Walt Disney Company's ABC and ESPN through 2016.
- Sacramento Kings small forward Ron Artest and Golden State Warriors shooting guard Stephen Jackson were suspended for the first seven games of the season.[2]
- The Orlando Magic got approvals in the last week of July for a new arena, which is expected to be ready for the 2010-11 season.[3]
- After spending 12 seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Kevin Garnett was traded to the Boston Celtics, in what was the largest NBA trade for one player.
- On November 2, 2007, the Seattle SuperSonics made their plans to move to Oklahoma City official.[4]
- On December 23, 2007, Kobe Bryant became the youngest player to score 20,000 points at age 29 years, 122 days old, surpassing Wilt Chamberlain's previous record of 29 years, 134 days old.[5]
- On December 24, 2007, the Chicago Bulls fired head coach Scott Skiles after a 9-16 start. Jim Boylan was named the interim head coach for the remaining games in this season three days later.[6]
- On January 11, 2008, NBA commissioner David Stern granted the Miami Heat a 51.9 seconds replay on their overtimed game on December 19, 2007 versus the Atlanta Hawks because the official scorer ruled incorrectly that Shaquille O'Neal was fouled out, when he was on his fifth foul. The Hawks were fined $50,000 for their "gross negligence." The replay was held on March 8, 2008, before the teams' next meeting. This was the first replay since December 1982 when then-NBA commissioner Larry O'Brien granted a replay on a double overtimed game between the San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Lakers.[7] This replay was continued despite O'Neal having been traded to the Phoenix Suns.[8] The Hawks won the replay.
- February 2008 was marked by several major trades by some the league's top teams. Some of the more notable trades include:
- Pau Gasol going from the Memphis Grizzlies to the Los Angeles Lakers for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron Mckie and other considerations.[9]
- Shaquille O'Neal going from the Miami Heat to the Phoenix Suns in return for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks.
- Mike Bibby going from the Sacramento Kings to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Anthony Johnson, Tyronn Lue, Shelden Williams, Lorenzen Wright, and a second-round 2008 draft pick.[10]
- Jason Kidd, along with Malik Allen and Antoine Wright going from the New Jersey Nets to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Devin Harris, DeSagana Diop, Maurice Ager, Trenton Hassell, retired Keith Van Horn, two first round draft picks and three-million dollars.[11]
- Kurt Thomas going from the Seattle Supersonics to the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for Brent Barry, Francisco Elson and a 2009 first round draft pick. Brent Barry was immediately waived by the Sonics.
- A three-team deal between Cleveland, Chicago, and Seattle that saw Ben Wallace and Joe Smith, a 2009 2nd-round pick, Sonics forward Wally Szczerbiak and guard Delonte West all go to Cleveland, Cavs forwards Drew Gooden and Cedric Simmons, guards Larry Hughes and Shannon Brown go to Chicago, Cavs forwards Ira Newble and Donyell Marshall, and Bulls forward Adrian Griffin go to Seattle.
- Bonzi Wells and Mike James going from the Houston Rockets to the New Orleans Hornets for point guard Bobby Jackson.
- On February 28, 2008, Cleveland Cavaliers' Lebron James became the youngest player to score 10,000 points at age 23 years, 59 days old, surpassing Kobe Bryant's previous record of 24 years, 193 days old.[12]
- As of March 11, 2008, the Houston Rockets have won 19 consecutive games, making it the third longest winning streak in NBA history.
Team standings
Clinched Division title | |
Clinched playoff berth | |
Eliminated from playoffs contention |
Notes:
- A division leader is guaranteed at least a #4 seed in the playoffs.
- The team with the best record outside the division winner is guaranteed at least a #4 seed in the playoffs.
Current NBA stats leaders
Category | Player | Team | Stat |
---|---|---|---|
Points per game | LeBron James | Cleveland Cavaliers | 30.9 |
Rebounds per game | Dwight Howard | Orlando Magic | 14.5 |
Assists per game | Steve Nash | Phoenix Suns | 11.5 |
Steals per game | Chris Paul | New Orleans Hornets | 2.70 |
Blocks per game | Marcus Camby | Denver Nuggets | 3.9 |
Field goal percentage | Andris Biedrins | Golden State Warriors | .627 |
Free throw percentage | Caron Butler | Washington Wizards | .913 |
Three-point field goal percentage | Jason Kapono | Toronto Raptors | .510 |
Turnovers per game | Dwyane Wade | Miami Heat | 4.4 |
References
- ^ Top draft pick Greg Oden to miss rookie season with Trail Blazers, Sports Illustrated.
- ^ Jackson, Artest suspended following court pleas, ESPN.
- ^ Orlando OKs venues; big hurdle awaits
- ^ Associated Press (2007-11-03). "Sonics tell NBA of intent to move SuperSonics to Oklahoma City". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2007-12-27.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ "NBA: Kobe youngest to reach 20,000". NBA. December 23, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-24.
- ^ "Sports People: Chicago Bulls fire coach Scott Skiles". Chicago Tribune. December 24, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
- ^ Heat, Hawks to replay final minute of Dec. 19 game later this year, ESPN.
- ^ NBA Sets Guidelines for Heat-Hawks Replay, NBA.com
- ^ In dire need of frontcourt help, Lakers acquire Gasol from Grizzlies, ESPN.
- ^ "HAWKS: Hawks Acquire Mike Bibby From Sacramento". Retrieved 2008-02-17.
- ^ "Nets send Kidd to Mavericks in eight-player trade". Retrieved 2008-02-19.
- ^ James hits milestone but Cavaliers fall to Celtics 92-87, ESPN.