Basketball at the 1988 Summer Olympics — international basketball tournament
The last Olympic basketball tournament before NBA professionals were permitted to compete, marking the end of an amateur era.
Key Facts
- Olympic appearance number
- 12th time basketball appeared as official event
- Dates
- 17 September – 30 September 1988
- Men's gold medalist
- Soviet Union (2nd gold in history)
- Women's gold medalist
- United States (repeated 1984 title)
- NBA rule change
- FIBA lifted NBA ban in 1989, one year after this tournament
- Venue
- Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Under longstanding FIBA amateur eligibility rules, NBA professionals were barred from Olympic competition. This restriction had shaped Olympic basketball since its introduction in 1936, limiting rosters to players from amateur or state-sponsored programs.
Basketball at the 1988 Seoul Olympics was contested from 17 to 30 September at the Jamsil Gymnasium. The Soviet Union claimed the men's gold medal, fielding a roster heavily drawn from Baltic states including Lithuanian stars Sabonis and Marčiulionis. The United States repeated as women's gold medalists.
In 1989, FIBA voted to allow NBA players in Olympic competition. This directly led to the formation of the 1992 United States 'Dream Team,' which transformed international basketball and established a new era of professional dominance at the Games.
Result
at Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul, South Korea