McDonald's Championship
 | |
| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1987 |
| Ceased | 1999 |
| No. of teams | 6 |
| Country | International |
| Last champion(s) |  San Antonio Spurs (1st title) |
| Most titles | 9 NBA teams (1 title each) |
The McDonald's Championship (sometimes called the McDonald's Open) was an international men's professional
NBA
champions would join from 1995 and onwards.
McDonald's Open received a lot of media and fan attention and it was held annually from 1987 until 1991. Although it was a weekend-long late-October preseason event, both
FIBA World Cup, and also in 1998 because of the NBA lock-out
.The all-time scorer of the competition is
Toni Kukoc
is the tournament’s all-time leader in assists.
History
The first competition was held in 1987 and continued annually after that until 1991, when the tournament switched to a biennial event. For the first two years, the men's national teams from
Sagesse Club, participated in the McDonald's Championship, the first and only time Asia was represented in the tournament.
The McDonald's Championship was discontinued after 1999 following the 2000 FIBA–EuroLeague dispute
which forced FIBA to ultimately lose control of its top-tier European club competition.
The McDonald's Championship was discontinued after 1999 following the 2000 FIBA–EuroLeague dispute
Many famous
and Riccardo Pittis.Media coverage
In the United States, ABC[2] held the network television rights from 1987-1989.[3] Gary Bender[4] and Dick Vitale[5] provided the commentary for ABC's broadcasts. Supplemental coverage was provided by TBS.[6][7]
Beginning in 1990, American network TV coverage[8] moved over to NBC.[9][10] NBC would continue to broadcast the finals of the McDonald's Championship through 1997.[11]
TNT[12] exclusively covered the final McDonald's Championship event in 1999.[13] Marv Albert,[14] Doug Collins, and Hubie Brown[15] were the commentators for TNT in 1999.
Legacy
McDonald's Open served as a stepping stone for what happened in 1989, when the
Borislav Stankovic and David Stern
(NBA Commissioner from 1984 to 2014), believed that basketball everywhere would benefit if the best players from all countries competed against each other.
In 1989, two years after the first McDonald's Open, the Federation Internationale de Basketball Amateur became the Federation Internationale de Basketball, and in 1992 in Barcelona, NBA players made up the USA Olympic squad and was famously dubbed Dream Team
.
Format
After the first tournament (3 teams championship format), the competition was played in a single elimination format, with the winners of each match advancing to the next round.
Rules
The competition combined rules of both the NBA and the European leagues (FIBA rules).[16][17]
Results
| Year | Final | Third place game | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champions | Score | Runners-up | Third | Fourth | |||
| 1987 Details |
 Milwaukee Bucks |
127-100 | Soviet Union
|
Tracer Milano
|
— | ||
| 1988 Details |
Boston Celtics |
111–96 |  Real Madrid |
Yugoslavia
|
 Scavolini Pesaro | ||
| 1989 Details |
Denver Nuggets |
135–129 |  Jugoplastika |
Philips Milano
|
FC Barcelona Banca Catalana | ||
| 1990 Details |
New York Knicks |
117–101 | POP 84 |
FC Barcelona Banca Catalana |
Scavolini Pesaro | ||
| 1991 Details |
Los Angeles Lakers |
116–114 | Montigalà Joventut |
 Limoges CSP |
 Slobodna Dalmacija | ||
| 1993 Details |
Phoenix Suns |
112–90 | Buckler Beer Bologna
|
Real Madrid Teka |
Limoges CSP | ||
| 1995 Details |
Houston Rockets |
126–112 | Buckler Beer Bologna
|
 Perth Wildcats |
Real Madrid Teka | ||
| 1997 Details |
Chicago Bulls |
104–78 |  Olympiacos |
 Atenas |
PSG Racing | ||
| 1999 Details |
San Antonio Spurs |
103–68 | Vasco da Gama
|
 Žalgiris |
Varese Roosters | ||
MVPs
The NBA’s teams dominated the competition and won all 9 tournaments with their stars picking up all the MVP awards. The award was named after
Drazen Petrovic
who lost his life in 1993.
| Year | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
1987
|
Terry Cummings
|
Milwaukee Bucks
|
1988
|
Larry Bird
|
Boston Celtics
|
1989
|
Walter Davis
|
Denver Nuggets
|
1990
|
Patrick Ewing
|
New York Knicks
|
1991
|
Magic Johnson
|
Los Angeles Lakers
|
1993
|
Charles Barkley
|
Phoenix Suns
|
| 1995 | Clyde Drexler
|
Houston Rockets
|
| 1997 | Michael Jordan
|
Chicago Bulls
|
| 1999 | Tim Duncan
|
San Antonio Spurs
|
Topscorers
Only three
.Tracer Milano
. He is also the all-time scorer in the history of the competition| Year | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
1987
|
Bob McAdoo
|
Tracer Milano
|
1988
|
Larry Bird  Dražen Petrović
|
Boston Celtics  Real Madrid
|
1989
|
Bob McAdoo (2)
|
Tracer Milano
|
1990
|
Patrick Ewing
|
New York Knicks
|
1991
|
Jordi Villacampa
|
Club Joventut Badalona
|
1993
|
Joe Arlauckas
|
Real Madrid
|
| 1995 | Orlando Woolridge
|
 Virtus Bologna
|
| 1997 | Michael Jordan
|
Chicago Bulls
|
| 1999 | Charles Byrd
|
 Vasco da Gama
|
Finishes
Top 4 finishes by team
| Team | Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Fourth place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Celtics
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chicago Bulls
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Denver Nuggets
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Houston Rockets
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Los Angeles Lakers
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Milwaukee Bucks
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| New York Knicks
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Phoenix Suns
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| San Antonio Spurs
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
 Split [a]
|
0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
Virtus Bologna [b]
|
0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Real Madrid
|
0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Joventut Badalona
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
 Olympiacos
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Soviet Union
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Vasco da Gama
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Olimpia Milano [c]
|
0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| FC Barcelona
|
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Limoges CSP
|
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Atenas
|
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
 Perth Wildcats
|
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Yugoslavia
|
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
 Žalgiris
|
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Victoria Libertas [d]
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Racing Paris
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Varese [e]
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Top 4 finishes by country
| Country | Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Fourth place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States
|
9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Italy
|
0 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Spain
|
0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Yugoslavia
|
0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Brazil
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Greece
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
 Soviet Union
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| France
|
0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Argentina
|
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Australia
|
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Lithuania
|
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Croatia
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
See also
- EuroLeague American Tour
- List of games played between NBA and international teams
- Naismith Cup
- NBA Canada Series
- NBA Global Games
- NBA versus EuroLeague games
- FIBA Intercontinental Cup
Notes
- ^ Playing under the name of Jugoplastika, POP 84 and Slobodna Dalmacija due to sponsorship reasons.
- ^ Playing under the name of Buckler Beer Bologna due to sponsorship reasons.
- ^ Playing under the name of Tracer Milano and Philips Milano due to sponsorship reasons.
- ^ Playing under the name of Scavolini Pesaro due to sponsorship reasons.
- ^ Playing under the name of Varese Roosters due to sponsorship reasons.
References
- ^ "A-d-c – Información actualizada de todos los deportes". Archived from the original on 2009-03-24.
- ISBN 9780671568108.)
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ Stewart, Larry (November 10, 1989). "NBC Gets NBA for Four Years, $600 Million". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Stewart, Larry (October 21, 1988). "Garagiola Comes Up With a Good Call on Parker in Last Game". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ McCallum, Jack (November 2, 1987). "IN YOUR FACE, COMRADES!". Sports Illustrated.
- ^ Sarni, Jim (July 22, 1988). "L.A., BOSTON GET THE AIR; HEAT WILL BE SHOWN ONCE". Sun-Sentinel.
- ISBN 9781982103958.
- ^ Herbert, Steven (October 13, 1990). "SPORTS ON WEEKEND TV". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Herbert, Steven (October 31, 1990). "Enberg to Do NBA Play-by-Play". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Winderman, Ira (September 23, 1990). "HEAT WILL BE SCOUTED BY A NEW EXPANSION TEAM: NBC". Sun-Sentinel.
- ^ "Bulls, Lakers Among Treats With Openers on Halloween". Los Angeles Times. July 23, 1997.
- ^ "1999-00 NBA on Turner Sports". WOnline, Wizards Online.
- ^ "AROUND & ABOUT". The Buffalo News. October 15, 1999.
- ^ "1999 McDonalds Open: San Antonio Spurs v Varese". Getty Images. October 15, 1999.
- ^ "BOSNIAN SERB WITH NBA SHOT AWAITS REINVENTION IN U.S." The Washington Post.
- ^ SPORTS PEOPLE: PRO BASKETBALL; Nuggets in Rome Meet – The New York Times (July 5, 1989) (retrieved on September 6, 2006)
- ^ "Bulls win another championship; beat Greeks in McDonald's final". Associated Press.