2008–09 NBA season
| 2008–09 NBA season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Basketball Association |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration | October 28, 2008 – April 16, 2009 April 18 – May 30, 2009 (Playoffs) June 4 – 14, 2009 (Finals) |
| Number of games | 82 |
| Number of teams | 30 |
| TV partner(s) | ABC, TNT, ESPN, NBA TV |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Derrick Rose |
| Picked by | Chicago Bulls |
| Regular season | |
| Top seed | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| Season MVP | LeBron James (Cleveland) |
| Top scorer | Dwyane Wade (Miami) |
| Playoffs | |
| Eastern champions | Orlando Magic |
| Eastern runners-up | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| Western champions | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Western runners-up | Denver Nuggets |
| Finals | |
| Champions | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Runners-up | Orlando Magic |
| Finals MVP | Kobe Bryant (L.A. Lakers) |
The 2008–09 NBA season was the 63rd season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 1,230-game regular season (82 games for each of the 30 teams) began on Tuesday, October 28, 2008, and ended on Wednesday, April 15, 2009. The 2009 NBA Playoffs started on Saturday, April 18, 2009 and ran until Sunday, June 14 when the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Orlando Magic 99–86 to win the 2009 NBA Finals, four games to one.
The 2008 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2008, and Derrick Rose was selected first overall by the Chicago Bulls and eventually awarded the 2009 NBA Rookie of the Year Award. The 2009 NBA All-Star Game was hosted at the US Airways Center in Phoenix. The Western Conference All-Stars defeated the Eastern Conference All-Stars 146–119. The All-Star Game co-MVPs were Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.
This was the first NBA season since 1966–67 without a Seattle franchise, as the SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in July 2008 and became the Oklahoma City Thunder.
July
October
December
January
February
NBA All-Star Break
The 2009 NBA All-Star Game was played at the US Airways Center, home of the Phoenix Suns, on February 15, 2009, with the West winning 146–119 and the Phoenix Suns' Shaquille O'Neal and Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant being named the Co-MVPs. During the NBA All-Star Weekend, Nate Robinson of the New York Knicks won the Sprite Slam Dunk competition; Kevin Durant, who won the Rookie Challenge MVP, also won the inaugural H.O.R.S.E Competition and Miami's Daequan Cook beat Rashard Lewis in a tiebreaker to win the Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout.
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