McDonald's Championship
The McDonald's Championship (sometimes called the McDonald's Open) was an international men's professional basketball club cup competition that featured a representative of the National Basketball Association against champion club teams from Europe, Australia, and South America. 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 Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union participated.[1]
 | |
| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1987 |
| Ceased | 1999 |
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Country | Worldwide |
| Last champion(s) |  San Antonio Spurs |
In each of the nine years the McDonald's Championship was held, the title was won by a team from the NBA, but twice by a close margin. The first time was in the semifinals in 1990, when the New York Knicks trailed Italian club Scavolini Pesaro by three points (107–104) with only 30 seconds on the clock. After successfully defending, the Knicks won possession and Gerald Wilkins netted a three-pointer with eight seconds remaining to send the game into overtime. The other close game came the following year in 1991, when the Los Angeles Lakers defeated Spanish champions Montigalà Joventut by just two points (116–114).
In 1999, the FIBA Asia basketball club champions, 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.
History
Names of the competition
- McDonald's Open: 1987–1993
- McDonald's Championship: 1995–1999
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.
Results
| Year | Final | Third place game | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champion | Score | Second place | Third | Fourth | |||
| 1987 Details |
Milwaukee Bucks |
League |  Soviet Union |
 Tracer Milano |
N/A | ||
| 1988 Details |
Boston Celtics |
111–96 |  Real Madrid |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 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 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 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 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Žalgiris |
Varese Roosters | ||
MVPs
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 [lower-alpha 1] |
0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Virtus Bologna [lower-alpha 2] |
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 [lower-alpha 3] |
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 [lower-alpha 4] |
0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Racing Paris |
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Varese [lower-alpha 5] |
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
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.