This season was notable for being one of the most competitive Western Conference playoff races in NBA history. Up until April 4, 2008, not a single Western Conference team had secured a playoff spot, and the eighth-seeded team was a mere 6.5 games behind the first seed. Additionally, the quality of the teams ensured that the Golden State Warriors finished with the highest winning percentage of any non-playoff team in NBA history since the switch to the eight-team playoff format, beating out the 2000–01 Houston Rockets. This was later tied by the 2013–14 Phoenix Suns. The all-time record is held by the 1971–72 Phoenix Suns (49–33), which was during the four-team playoff era.
The Orlando Magic got approvals in the last week of July for a new arena, which was ready for the 2010–11 season.[3]
After spending 12 seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Kevin Garnett was traded to the Boston Celtics in exchange for seven players, the largest trade in NBA history for one player.
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 the season three days later.[6]
On January 11, 2008, NBA commissioner David Stern granted the Miami Heat a 51.9-second replay on their overtime 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-overtime 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 went on to win the replay.
February 2008 was marked by several major trades by some of the league's top teams. Some of the more notable trades include:
On February 28, 2008, Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James became the youngest player to score 10,000 points at age 23 years and 59 days old, surpassing Kobe Bryant's previous record of 24 years and 193 days old.[16]
The Boston Celtics broke the record for the best single-season turnaround in NBA history by improving from 24 wins in 2006–07 to 66 wins this season, a total of 42 games.[17] The previous record of 36 games was held by the 1997–98 San Antonio Spurs, who improved from 20 to 56 wins.[18][19]
The Golden State Warriors missed the playoffs despite finishing the regular season with a 48–34 record.
On April 28, 2008, Pat Riley announced that he would step down as the Miami Heat head coach after leading the team to a 15–67 record. Former Heat assistant coach Erik Spoelstra was announced as his replacement. Riley remained as team president.[21]
The New Orleans Hornets (as of 2013, the Pelicans) won their team's first playoff series in franchise history defeating the Dallas Mavericks 4–1. They lost a seven-game series to the San Antonio Spurs in the conference semifinals.
After losing in the first round of the playoffs, Dallas Mavericks coach Avery Johnson was fired as head coach. Former Pacers coach Rick Carlisle was named as Johnson's replacement.
The 2008 NBA Finals featured No. 1 seeds from both conferences for the first time since 2000. The Boston Celtics, who earned their first finals appearance since 1987, faced the Los Angeles Lakers, reviving a classic rivalry not seen since the Lakers beat the Celtics 4–2 in 1987. This time the Celtics prevailed 4–2 over the Lakers.
Flip Saunders was dismissed as Detroit Pistons head coach, four days after the Celtics beat the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals. Detroit's game 4 win over Boston marked the last and most recent playoff win as of 2021 for the Motor City as they began to rebuild for the next several years—longtime Pistons guard Chauncey Billups was traded to the Denver Nuggets for Allen Iverson after the first few games in the 2008–09 season, and several players were signed and traded away, which marked the end of the mid-2000s Pistons era.[22]
On June 17, 2008, after a rough 26-game playoff journey, the Boston Celtics won their record 17th NBA championship with a six-game NBA Finals triumph over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Beginning with this season, all NBA broadcasts on ESPN, ABC and TNT include interviews with the head coaches by the courtside reporter prior to the second and fourth quarter of games. The visiting team's coach is interviewed before the second, the host team's coach is interviewed before the fourth quarter.[citation needed]
Atlanta Hawks – added new logo and new uniforms, replacing red, black, yellow and gold colors with remained red, and added dark navy blue, grey and silver to their color scheme, and side panels to their jerseys and shorts.
Charlotte Bobcats – added new grey road alternate uniforms, and added pinstripes with checkered flag of black-and-white "NASCAR version" side panels to their jerseys and shorts.
Philadelphia 76ers – slightly changed their uniforms by adding side panels to their jerseys and shorts, and added new red road alternate uniforms with blue side panels to their jerseys and shorts.
Washington Wizards – slightly changed their logo and uniforms by replacing dark brown with lighter brown to their color scheme, and added side panels to their jerseys and shorts.
Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in its conference, and the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions are marked by an asterisk. Home-court advantage does not necessarily belong to the higher-seeded team, but instead the team with the better regular season record; teams enjoying the home advantage are shown in italics.