2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Regular season, Sharpie 500
The twenty-fourth race of the season, the Sharpie 500, was held at the repaved Bristol Motor Speedway on August 25. This was the tenth race to feature the Car of Tomorrow. In addition, this race was run on a reconfigured track where the infamous 36-degree high banks have been replaced by "progressively banked" turns between 24 and 30 degrees. Kasey Kahne won the pole. Carl Edwards won the race and held off Kahne, who led 305 laps, while Edwards led 182 laps, giving Ford their first CoT victory.


2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Regular season, Sharp AQUOS 500
The twenty-fifth race of the season, the Sharp AQUOS 500, was held at California Speedway on September 2. Kurt Busch won the pole. His brother, Kyle Busch, dominated the race for 97 of 250 laps. However, it was his teammate, El Cajon native Jimmie Johnson, who won the race.


2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Regular season, Chevy Rock & Roll 400
The twenty-sixth and final race of the "regular" season, the Chevy Rock & Roll 400, was held at Richmond International Raceway on September 8. This was the eleventh race to feature the Car of Tomorrow. Jimmie Johnson won the pole and the race. It was his sixth victory of the year, which meant that he starts the Chase at the top of the points. Bobby Labonte made his 500th career start.


2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Chase for the Nextel Cup
All ten of the races in the 2007 Chase for the Nextel Cup were broadcast on ABC. The ten races were evenly split between the regular stock car and the Car of Tomorrow, with the CoT running at New Hampshire, Dover, Talladega, Martinsville and Phoenix.


2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Chase for the Nextel Cup, Sylvania 300
The first race of the 2007 Chase for the Nextel Cup, the Sylvania 300, was held at New Hampshire International Speedway on September 16. This was the twelfth race to feature the Car of Tomorrow. Clint Bowyer won the pole and entered the Chase as the only driver without a win. However, he would dominate the field, leading for 222 of 300 laps en route to his first career victory in 64 starts.


2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Chase for the Nextel Cup, Sylvania 300
All 43 cars that started the race were running at the finish, the first time since North Wilkesboro in 1996 that every car starting the race finished.


2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Chase for the Nextel Cup, Dodge Dealers 400
The second race of the 2007 Chase was the Dodge Dealers 400, which was held at Dover International Speedway on September 23. This was the thirteenth race to feature the Car of Tomorrow. Jimmie Johnson won his second pole of the season. Carl Edwards scored his third win of the season.


2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Chase for the Nextel Cup, LifeLock 400
The third race of the 2007 Chase was the LifeLock 400, and was held at Kansas Speedway on September 30. Jimmie Johnson won the pole. For the second consecutive race, due to a crash in happy hour Jimmie had to start in the 43rd position, half of the Chase drivers struggled. Jeff Burton was sent to the "back of the longest line" for a rule violation during the first red flag for rain when he pulled on the right front fender, in a repeat of Fendergate, as NASCAR prohibits working on the cars during the red flag. Greg Biffle won the race after two rain delays shortened the event to 210 laps.


2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Chase for the Nextel Cup, UAW-Ford 500
The fourth race of the 2007 Chase, the UAW-Ford 500, was held at Talladega Superspeedway on October 7. This was the fourteenth race to feature the Car of Tomorrow, but it was the first to use them with restrictor plates. Also, gear restrictions, which have not been used at restrictor plate races, but have been in use at other races since 2005, was also used for the first time at the track. Michael Waltrip won the pole, the second one for Toyota this season. Seven of the top ten cars were Toyotas.


2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Chase for the Nextel Cup, UAW-Ford 500
Jacques Villeneuve made his debut, while Sam Hornish Jr. went home again. In fact, the top eight speeds were from "go or go home" teams, as the next three highest speeds were locked out of the race by other teams that were not locked into the top 35 teams in the owners' points.


2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Chase for the Nextel Cup, UAW-Ford 500
Jeff Gordon earned his 80th career victory and the points lead with a last lap charge on teammate Jimmie Johnson, sweeping both Talladega races of the season and bringing his total victories at the track to six. Third-placed Dave Blaney gave Toyota their best finish of the season to date. This would be the last race to be raced under the UAW-Ford 500 banner. Starting in 2008, the race would be known as the AMP Energy 500.


2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Chase for the Nextel Cup, Bank of America 500
The fifth race of the 2007 Chase, the Bank of America 500, was held at Lowe's Motor Speedway on October 13, and was the only Saturday night race in the Chase schedule. Ryan Newman won his fifth pole of the year, and swept both poles at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The biggest surprise was that Brian Vickers, who drove to a top-five finish in the spring race, failed to make the field.


2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Chase for the Nextel Cup, Bank of America 500
After five consecutive DNF's at Lowe's, Jeff Gordon overcame a fuel issue, holding off Clint Bowyer and soon to be ex-teammate Kyle Busch for his first Charlotte victory since 1999. This race marked the 22nd and final time in his career that Jeff Gordon won back-to-back races. This race also featured Ned Jarrett as a guest on broadcasting, being his first broadcast experience since Atlanta in 2000.


2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Chase for the Nextel Cup, Subway 500
The sixth race of the 2007 Chase, the Subway 500, was held at Martinsville Speedway on October 21. This was the fifteenth race to feature the Car of Tomorrow. Jeff Gordon won the pole and Jimmie Johnson won the race.


2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Chase for the Nextel Cup, Pep Boys Auto 500
The seventh race of the 2007 Chase, the Pep Boys Auto 500, was held at Atlanta Motor Speedway on October 28. Greg Biffle won his first pole of the season and Jimmie Johnson won his eighth race of the season.


2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Chase for the Nextel Cup, Dickies 500
The eighth race of the 2007 Chase, the Dickies 500, was held at Texas Motor Speedway on November 4. Martin Truex Jr. won his first career pole. Jimmie Johnson won his third race in a row and ninth in the season, and took the point lead.


2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Chase for the Nextel Cup, Checker Auto Parts 500 presented by Pennzoil
The ninth and penultimate race of the 2007 chase, the Checker Auto Parts 500, was held at Phoenix International Raceway on November 11. This was the sixteenth and final 2007 race to feature the Car of Tomorrow. Carl Edwards won the pole and Jimmie Johnson won his 10th race of the season and fourth consecutive. As of 2020, Johnson is the last driver to win 10 races in a single season and also 4 consecutive races.


2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Chase for the Nextel Cup, Checker Auto Parts 500 presented by Pennzoil
The 2010s became the 1st decade in NASCAR history that a driver failed to win 10 races in a single season and 4 consecutive races. Jeff Gordon ties Dale Jarrett for the Modern Era record of most Top 10 finishes in a single season with 29. Jarrett accomplished that feat in his Championship season in 1999.


2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Chase for the Nextel Cup, Ford 400
The 2007 Nextel Cup season came to a close with the final race of the 2007 season at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 18. The race observed two lasts: The last use of the fourth-generation car introduced in 1992, since the Car of Tomorrow would be used full-time in 2008, and the last race under the Nextel Cup banner. Sprint assumed the title sponsorship starting with the 2008 Daytona 500. Jimmie Johnson won his fourth pole of the season.


2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Chase for the Nextel Cup, Ford 400
Matt Kenseth dominated, leading 214 laps en route to his second win of 2007, and Johnson finished seventh, clinching the championship by 77 points over teammate Jeff Gordon. Gordon breaks out of a tie with Dale Jarrett and finished out the 2007 season with 30 top 10 finishes. As of 2020, this is a NASCAR Modern Era record. Jarrett accomplished 29 top 10 finishes in his Championship season in 1999.


2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Television coverage
The 2007 season was the start of a new television package. The contracts are for eight seasons, running until 2014. NBC and FX both egressed after the 2006 season, and ESPN and ABC have returned after a six-year absence, with ESPN last broadcasting the series' NAPA 500 from Atlanta in November 2000, and ABC telecasting the Brickyard 400 in August of that same year.


2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Television coverage, Fox
Fox carried the first part of the season beginning with Speedweeks at Daytona, and continued coverage up through the June race held at the Dover International Speedway, with Fox-owned Speed Channel carrying the Gatorade Duel at Daytona qualifying races and the Nextel All-Star Challenge/Nextel Open doubleheader. Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds, and Darrell Waltrip returned to the broadcast booth for Fox. Fox also planned to carry two Craftsman Truck Series races March 31 and May 26, with Speed carrying the remainder of the series. The March 31 race at Martinsville was shown successfully on Fox, but the telecast for the May 26 race at Mansfield, OH was moved to Speed Channel after lap 50 due to rain delays.


2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Television coverage, TNT
TNT covered six mid-season races in June and July dubbed the "NASCAR Summer Series" including the Pepsi 400. The commentators included announcers Bill Weber and Wally Dallenbach Jr..  Kyle Petty replaced Benny Parsons and also drove and did commentary from his car during the June 24 race at Sonoma, which turned out at the outset of the race to be rather embarrassing as he uttered "What the fuck was that?" in a replay of how he was involved in an accident. TNT used Hinder's cover of the Steppenwolf classic rock anthem "Born to Be Wild" as part of their race broadcast.


2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Television coverage, ESPN/ABC
ESPN and ABC carried all races beginning with the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard in late July on ESPN running up through the Labor Day weekend race at California and ABC picking up their part of the package with the final pre-chase race at Richmond and the entire Chase for the Nextel Cup. Jerry Punch served as the play-by-play and Rusty Wallace and Andy Petree served as color commentators.


2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Television coverage, ESPN/ABC
Punch last worked for the network as a pit reporter on IRL events such as the Indianapolis 500, and has also filled in on the play-by-play of NASCAR races prior to 2001, mostly during coverage of NASCAR Busch Series races, which ESPN2 and ABC will carried full-time starting in 2007. Wallace is the 1989 NASCAR Cup Series champion. They were joined by newcomer Andy Petree, a former team owner and Dale Earnhardt's crew chief in 1993 and 1994. Brent Musburger and Suzy Kolber served as the hosts on both ESPN and ABC. Rock group Aerosmith kicked off each broadcast with a live version of their big 1970s FM hit "Back in the Saddle" that was filmed in concert in Las Vegas.


2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Rookies
For the second consecutive year, the fight for ROTY was expected to be fierce, as competitors from all areas or racing expertise battled in NASCAR's top level. The most profiled rookie was ex-Formula One driver Juan Pablo Montoya, driving Chip Ganassi Racing's No. 42 Dodge vacated by Casey Mears. Montoya would permanently leave F1 after a fallout with his boss, Ron Dennis. Montoya was widely criticized for his over-aggressive driving style in his open-wheel days.


2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Rookies
Although this came to be true in the early part of the season, Montoya, with help from his owner, teammates, and crew chiefs, managed to tame his aggressive nature and translate it into his first ever win at Infineon Raceway, becoming the first foreign driver to win a race since Earl Ross of Canada at Martinsville in 1974. The win would propel Montoya to be the first ever foreign-born driver to win ROTY. Runner-up David Ragan had big shoes to fill, as he would be taking over the legendary No. 6 ride for veteran Mark Martin.


2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Rookies
Despite his limited experience in NASCAR, having only run part-time in the ARCA RE/MAX Series and the Craftsman Truck Series, Ragan would make a splash with a fifth-place finish in the Daytona 500. After that, he would have an up and down year, gaining experience along the way. As Montoya and Ragan were the only two drivers with guaranteed starting spots, the rest of the rookies were trying to make races with new teams. Busch Series driver Paul Menard continued his relationship with DEI, but struggled to make races until the DEI-Ginn merger (see "Merger Mania" section).


2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Rookies
Another open wheel immigrant, ex-Champ Car driver A. J. Allmendinger struggled to adjust to stock cars, and his development as a driver was further hampered with his allegiance with Toyota, a new manufacturer. Former Truck Series driver David Reutimann also struggled with a new team and manufacturer, and like Allmendinger and Menard, was out of the critical top 35 in owners points. Brandon Whitt attempted at least a partial schedule with CJM Racing, but after missing race after race, the team decided to release Whitt and move down to the Busch Series.


2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Test schedule
In 2006, NASCAR instituted a new track testing policy that set a schedule for when and where NASCAR Nextel Cup Series tests were conducted. These scheduled tests are the only opportunities that the NNCS teams will have to test their cars at NNCS tracks.


2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Test schedule
The testing issue has become a controversy because teams, especially Chevrolet teams, have been testing their cars at various non-NNCS tracks listed below in the "Notes" section. All test reports are being telecast on Speed Channel.


2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Test schedule
(*) – Even numbered finishers in the 2006 Nextel Cup standings. (**) – Odd numbered finishers in the 2006 Nextel Cup standings. (≈) – Only one day was used as this was extended by NASCAR to three sessions due to an oncoming rainstorm on March 1. CoT – Car of Tomorrow.


2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Test schedule
Notes: The scheduled tests for Dover on May 14–15 were cancelled due to the rainout of the Dodge Avenger 500 from May 12 to 13. The tests of Atlanta Motor Speedway were added on August 22 as the replacement for Dover.


2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Test schedule
In addition to these tests, Goodyear (in conjunction with NASCAR) stages closed practices to test tire combinations for NNCS tracks.


2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Test schedule
NASCAR does not limit testing at non-Nextel Cup Series circuits (using Hoosier, Michelin, or non-current Goodyear tires) such as Kentucky, Rockingham, Greenville-Pickens Speedway, Milwaukee, Nashville, or USA International Speedway. Many teams also use Virginia International Raceway for road course testing.


2007 NBA All-Star Game
The 2007 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game that was played on February 18, 2007, during the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2006–07 season. It was the 56th edition of the NBA All-Star Game, and was played at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas's Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada. The Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference, 153–132. Kobe Bryant was named the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player (MVP), having recorded 31 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, and 6 steals. It was the first time the All-Star Game was played in a city without an NBA franchise and first to be played on a college campus. The game was nationally televised on TNT in the United States at 9 p.m. ET as part of the NBA on TNT coverage.


2007 NBA All-Star Game
The Western Conference set All-Star records with 69 field goals and 52 assists. Amar'e Stoudemire scored 29 points with nine rebounds, and Carmelo Anthony had 20 points and nine rebounds for the West. LeBron James led the Eastern Conference with 28 points, six rebounds, and six assists, and Dwight Howard tallied 20 points and 12 boards. Bryant, previously the MVP of the 2002 All-Star Game, moved from 11th to 10th place on all-time All-star scoring, surpassing Magic Johnson. Dirk Nowitzki became the first European born-player to be a starter at the All-Star Game.


2007 NBA All-Star Game
As announced on August 5, 2005, the NBA, led by Commissioner David Stern, did not allow wagering on the results of the game in the state of Nevada.


2007 NBA All-Star Game, Venues
The choice to choose Las Vegas as the location was widely regarded as a bid by the city to give it its first major sports franchise. Mayor Oscar Goodman met with David Stern to discuss the possibility during the events. On April 5, Goodman sent a letter to the commissioner, requesting a meeting to sort out the matter. All-Star MVP and former teammates Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal welcomed the possibility, amid the gambling.


2007 NBA All-Star Game, All-Star Game, Coaches
The coach whose team has the best record in its conference is granted the right to coach their team. However, despite this rule, no one is allowed to coach in three consecutive All-Star Games. The Dallas Mavericks' Avery Johnson, who coached the West last year, fell under this rule so Mike D'Antoni of the Phoenix Suns took his place. The East's coach was Eddie Jordan of the Washington Wizards, as Flip Saunders was ineligible due to coaching the East last year.


2007 NBA All-Star Game, All-Star Game, Players
The 2006 All-Star MVP LeBron James was the top vote-getter, receiving 2,516,049 votes for the Eastern Conference's small forward position. One player has received more votes in NBA history: Dwight Howard with 3,150,181. Three other players, guards Kobe Bryant of the Lakers and Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat and center Yao of the Houston Rockets, received more than two million votes. All three started at their positions in their respective conference—with the exception of Yao Ming due to injury.


2007 NBA All-Star Game, All-Star Game, Players
In the Western Conference, the race was tight. Allen Iverson, formerly the seven-time East point guard starter, moved to Denver from Philadelphia, attracting votes from reigning NBA MVP Steve Nash. But surprisingly, neither of the two was voted in; both were reserves as swingman Tracy McGrady came in the back door win. Dirk Nowitzki, another player who analysts predicted that would be starting, was not able to muster enough votes to get over former MVP Kevin Garnett's 1,600,000, but was put in by coaches as a reserve and later added to the starting lineup by West coach Mike D'Antoni.


2007 NBA All-Star Game, All-Star Game, Players
Tim Duncan was also voted in as a forward. Carmelo Anthony, the star small forward for the Nuggets, was not voted in as a starter or reserve, contrary to earlier reports that head coaches from the conference would put him in the lineup despite being involved in a brawl, but was allowed as a reserve (because Carlos Boozer was injured). Mehmet Okur of the Utah Jazz and Ray Allen of the Seattle SuperSonics were chosen by Stern to replace the injured Nash and Iverson.


2007 NBA All-Star Game, All-Star Game, Players
Gilbert Arenas of the East benefited from Iverson's move to the West. In one of the closest races in game history, Arenas gained enough calls to start as the point guard of the East, over the New Jersey Nets' Vince Carter. Carter was eventually named as a reserve along with teammate Jason Kidd. In a controversial race, Shaquille O'Neal was voted in as starting center for the 14th straight time (despite playing only four games up to that point) over young star Dwight Howard. Chris Bosh of the Toronto Raptors was voted by the fans to start, marking the first time a Raptor started since Vince Carter was the top vote getter in his last season in Toronto.


2007 NBA All-Star Game, All-Star Game, Roster
Appearance denotes the number of times the player been selected to play in the All-Star game, including 2007. Jason Kidd of the East and Carlos Boozer, Steve Nash, Allen Iverson, and Yao Ming of the West could not play due to injuries. The game featured seven first time All-Stars.


2007 NBA All-Star Game, All-Star Game, Game
Unable to participate due to injury. Nowitzki was named to the starting lineup in place of Yao. Named to team by commissioner David Stern as replacement for injured player.


2007 NBA All-Star Game, All-Star Weekend, T-Mobile Rookie Challenge
David Lee hit all 14 of his field-goal attempts for a game-high 30 points as the Sophomore beat the Rookies for the fifth consecutive year, 155–114. Lee, who added 11 rebounds and four assists, took home MVP of the 2007 Rookie Challenge.


2007 NBA All-Star Game, All-Star Weekend, T-Mobile Rookie Challenge
Chris Paul notched novice-game records of 17 assists and nine steals to go with 16 points. Monta Ellis was the beneficiary of many of Paul's assists, as he had 5 alley-oop dunks in a 3:25 span, en route to scoring 28 points. Rudy Gay and Paul Millsap paced the Rookie squad with 22 points apiece.


2007 NBA All-Star Game, All-Star Weekend, T-Mobile Rookie Challenge
This game set a number of records for the Rookie Challenge:


2007 NBA All-Star Game, All-Star Weekend, T-Mobile Rookie Challenge
The coaches of the game were Mike O'Koren (Assistant coach of the Washington Wizards) for the Rookie Team, and Marc Iavaroni (Assistant coach of the Phoenix Suns) for the Sophomore team.


2007 NBA All-Star Game, All-Star Weekend, Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout
Jason Kapono tied Mark Price's final-round record with 24 points and outlasted Gilbert Arenas on his way to the 2007 Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout title. Arenas notched a first-round high of 23 points and had 17 in the finals. Defending champion Dirk Nowitzki had 20 in round one and nine in the finals, and Kapono narrowly made the finals with a first-round score of 19. Mike Miller (18), Damon Jones (15) and Jason Terry (10) were eliminated early.


2007 NBA All-Star Game, All-Star Weekend, Slam Dunk Contest
The Sprite Slam Dunk Contest was a memorable one. Dwight Howard jumped up and dunked while posting a sticker of him laughing, on the backboard. Eventually, Gerald Green and Nate Robinson went to the final round. Robinson looked unimpressive with his first dunk, and Green looked as bad as Robinson. However, Robinson had to do his second dunk after the limited two-minute period, and scored below 40. Green finished it off by getting a perfect score after jumping over a table. The judging panel included an impressive list of former champions who are considered some of the greatest dunkers in NBA history: Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins, Julius Erving, Kobe Bryant and Vince Carter.


2007 NBA All-Star Game, All-Star Weekend, PlayStation Skills Challenge
Unable to participate due to injury. Named as replacement for injured player.


2007 NBA All-Star Game, All-Star Weekend, Haier Shooting Stars Competition
The San Antonio team tried to be the first team to win back-to-back titles. Team Chicago (48.8) and Team Detroit (1:06) advanced to final round. Due to Ben Gordon shooting out of order before Candice Dupree, Detroit won by default.


2007 NBA Development League draft
The 2007 NBA Development League draft was held on November 1, 2007 at 8PM. There were ten rounds.


2007 NBA Development League expansion draft
The 2007 NBA Development League expansion draft was the second expansion draft of the National Basketball Association Development League (NBADL). The draft was held on September 5, 2007, so that the newly founded Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Utah Flash and Iowa Energy could acquire players for the upcoming 2007–08 season. Players from the final 2006–07 rosters of the Arkansas RimRockers and Fort Worth Flyers, as well as all other unprotected NBADL players, were available to have their rights selected in the 2007 expansion draft.


2007 NBA Development League expansion draft
A random drawing was held to determine the draft order and the Vipers won the first overall pick. The draft comprised 10 rounds where each team switched their selection order; for example, the Iowa Energy chose last in Round 1 (fourth overall) but were able to select first in Round 2 (fifth overall).


2007 NBA Development League expansion draft
J. R. Pinnock, a guard, was the first overall expansion draft selection. He was one of three players to have also been chosen in an NBA Draft (2006) along with James Lang (2003) and Denham Brown (2006). Through the 2009–10 NBA D-League season, eight total players from the 2007 expansion draft have been named an NBA D-League All-Star at least once, including Jeremy Richardson, Will Conroy, Curtis Stinson, Antonio Meeking, Clay Tucker, Desmon Farmer, Walker Russell, Jr. and Luke Schenscher. Oddly, none of the three NBA Draft picks have ever been named NBA D-League All-Stars.


2007 NBA Europe Live Tour
The 2007 NBA Europe Live Tour was a basketball exhibition tour featuring teams from the NBA and teams from Europe's top professional leagues, as part of the NBA Global Games. The hosting countries were England, Italy, Spain and Turkey. The NBA teams traveled to Europe to begin their training camps, and played a series of exhibition matches against the European teams, and preseason games against other NBA teams. The games took place from October 6 to October 11 and the NBA teams prevailed 5 games to 2 over the European teams.


2007 NBA Europe Live Tour, Teams
The four NBA teams that participated and the locations of their training camps:


2007 NBA Finals
The 2007 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 2006–07 season, and was the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The best-of-seven series was played between the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs and the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers. This was Cleveland's first trip to the NBA Finals in their franchise history and San Antonio's fourth. The Spurs swept the Cavaliers 4 games to 0. Tony Parker was named the series' MVP. The series was televised on ABC under the ESPN on ABC branding, and produced low television ratings comparing to the 2002 NBA Finals, when the Los Angeles Lakers swept the New Jersey Nets.


2007 NBA Finals
This series was the last sweep in the NBA Finals until 2018. This also was the last finals until 2019 in which a team made its first trip to the NBA Finals in its franchise history.


2007 NBA Finals, Format
The Finals were played using the 2-3-2 format, where the first two and last two games are held at the team with home court advantage. The NBA, after experimenting in the early years, restored this original format for the Finals in 1985. The other playoff series were played in the 2-2-1-1-1 format.


2007 NBA Finals, Format
The best-of-seven series began on June 7, 2007, with the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs playing the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers. Because the San Antonio Spurs had a better regular season win-loss record, they had home court advantage.


2007 NBA Finals, Background, Regular season series
The Cleveland Cavaliers won both games in the regular season series:


2007 NBA Finals, Background, San Antonio Spurs
The previous season saw the San Antonio Spurs drop a heartbreaking seventh game at home to the rival Dallas Mavericks in the second round. As the new season began, the Spurs saw the Mavericks rolling through their regular season, on their way to a franchise best 67 win campaign. Meanwhile, the Spurs struggled through their season through January. With the main focus lying on Dallas and the Phoenix Suns, the Spurs found themselves flying under the radar. A late-season surge resulted in a 58–24 regular season record, good enough for third seed in the Western Conference.


2007 NBA Finals, Background, San Antonio Spurs
In the playoffs, the Spurs met the Denver Nuggets and their duo of Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony. The Nuggets took game 1, but the Spurs reeled off 4 straight wins to take the series in five games. As San Antonio prepared to face off against the second seed Suns, the top-ranked Mavericks suffered a stunning first-round exit at the hands of the Golden State Warriors. With the Mavericks gone, the stakes of the Suns-Spurs series shot up dramatically, and it was a closely competitive and controversial series.


2007 NBA Finals, Background, San Antonio Spurs
The Suns had homecourt advantage, but that did not last past game 1. In a hotly contested battle of Western Conference heavyweights, each team tried to deliver a knockout blow. The Spurs finally landed it, but by accident. With the game in the balance Tony Parker and Steve Nash collided head-to-head. A large gash opened along Nash's nose and the medical staff could not stop the bleeding. He was forced to sit out the final 45 seconds and watch the Spurs win, 111–106. Game 2 saw the Suns rebound and blow out the Spurs, 101–81.


2007 NBA Finals, Background, San Antonio Spurs
After this game, Suns center Amar'e Stoudemire called the Spurs a dirty team. Game 3 switched back to San Antonio and saw a return of physical play, with Manu Ginóbili receiving a bruised and bloodied eye and Bruce Bowen kneeing Nash in the groin. Tim Duncan led the Spurs to a 108–101 victory.


2007 NBA Finals, Background, San Antonio Spurs
Games 4 and 5 were the most controversial of the series. The Spurs, after being comfortably in control of game 4, saw their 11-point fourth-quarter lead dwindle away to a 2-point Suns lead. With 18 seconds left, Robert Horry bodychecked Nash into the scorers' table. Nash's teammates jumped to his defense; during the ensuing altercation, Stoudemire and Boris Diaw left the bench. Their action violated NBA rules, and league commissioner David Stern suspended both players for game 5. Horry was also suspended two games for his flagrant foul on Nash. In game 5, in Phoenix, the short-handed Suns jumped out early to a 16-point lead, but in a reversal of game 4, the Spurs came back in the final seconds and won the game 88–85, giving San Antonio a 3–2 series lead.


2007 NBA Finals, Background, San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs won game 6 of the series 114–106 in San Antonio, sending them to their fifth Western Conference finals since 1999.


2007 NBA Finals, Background, San Antonio Spurs
San Antonio went on to beat the Utah Jazz in five games to advance to the franchise's fourth NBA Finals.


2007 NBA Finals, Background, Cleveland Cavaliers
In the replay of the previous year's playoffs with the Cavaliers holding home court advantage against Washington Wizards, the Cavaliers swept the Wizards after the season-ending injuries of both Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler. In the second round of the playoffs, the Cavaliers faced the New Jersey Nets. Again, the Cavaliers had home court advantage, and battled the Nets through 6 games before winning the series.


2007 NBA Finals, Background, Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavaliers advanced to the conference finals for only the third time in franchise history, and faced a familiar foe: the Detroit Pistons, the number one seed in the Eastern Conference, with their home court advantage. This was the same Detroit team that knocked the Cavaliers out of the second round the previous year. Expectations were high after a 7-game series the previous year and the two teams did not disappoint.


2007 NBA Finals, Background, Cleveland Cavaliers
The first two games were close and saw Cleveland fall by identical 79–76 scores. Down 0–2 in the series, the spotlight shifted back to Cleveland and LeBron James. Another hard-fought set ensued, with the Cavaliers taking the two games at home 88-82 and 91-87 respectively. Game 5 switched back to Detroit and produced one of the greatest moments in NBA history.


2007 NBA Finals, Background, Cleveland Cavaliers
With 6:14 to go in regulation and his team clinging to a one-point 79–78 lead, James took over the game. He scored 11 of the final 12 points to end regulation tied 91-91. In the first overtime, James scored all nine of the Cavaliers' points, ending the period tied 100-100. In the second overtime, James again scored all nine of the team's points to win, 109-107. Thus, in the last 16:14 of play, James scored 29 of the Cavaliers' last 30 points, as well as all of their last 25 points.


2007 NBA Finals, Background, Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavaliers beat the Pistons at home in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals to earn the franchise's first trip to the NBA Finals. Cleveland became the third team in NBA history to win a best-of-seven conference finals series after trailing by 2 games.


2007 NBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 1
The Cleveland Cavaliers entered the 2007 Finals as newcomers. Game 1 was their first NBA Finals game in franchise history, and the first for each of its players (other than reserve point guard Eric Snow). However, the San Antonio Spurs had been to the Finals in three of the past eight seasons, winning a championship each time. With solid performances by Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginóbili, the Spurs won the series opener in convincing fashion, limiting LeBron James to 14 points on 4–16 shooting.


2007 NBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 2
The Spurs took a stranglehold on momentum in Game 2. The Spurs' big three overwhelmed the Cavs and the Spurs led by as many as 29 points in the third quarter. They dominated the game during the first 3 quarters and played show-time basketball. A furious 25–6 rally by Cleveland in the final quarter wasn't enough as the Spurs took a 2–0 lead in the series.


2007 NBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 3
Rookie Daniel Gibson started Game 3 in place of the injured Larry Hughes but scored a series-low 2 points on 1-10 shooting. As a team the Cavs shot only .367, but out-rebounded the Spurs 48–41. Zydrunas Ilgauskas had a 2006–07 season high 18 rebounds. On the game's final play, LeBron James missed a potential game-tying 29 foot 3-pointer.


2007 NBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 3
Game 3 was the lowest scoring Finals game since 1955, with Tim Duncan of the Spurs having his lowest scoring game in his NBA Finals career, with 14 points.


2007 NBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 4
San Antonio started out strong through the first three quarters, leading by as many as 11. Cleveland would stage a rally near the end of the third quarter and the first five minutes of the fourth, scoring 14 consecutive points to take its first second-half lead of the series. However, the Spurs would stage a 12–3 rally of their own to retake the lead and win the series in a 4–0 sweep.


2007 NBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 4
Twelve-year veteran Michael Finley was awarded the NBA championship game ball.


2007 NBA Finals, Broadcasting
Coverage was produced by ESPN and televised on ABC in the United States, TSN in Canada, Sky Sports in the United Kingdom, Canal+ in France, Premiere in Germany, and more than 100 other broadcasters in over 200 countries.


2007 NBA Finals, Broadcasting
Play-by-play announcer Mike Breen, analysts Mark Jackson & former Rockets head-coach Jeff Van Gundy, and courtside reporters Michele Tafoya & Stuart Scott provided commentary and analysis for the North American market. The radio coverage on ESPN Radio features play-by-play man Mike Tirico and color analysts Dr. Jack Ramsay and Hubie Brown.


2007 NBA Finals, Broadcasting
The featured song, aired throughout the playoffs, was The Pussycat Dolls "Right Now."


2007 NBA Finals, Broadcasting
Another song featured in the 2007 NBA Finals series, "It Ends Tonight" by The All-American Rejects, was aired at the end of the pre-game promo for Game 4.


2007 NBA Finals, Broadcasting, Ratings
According to ESPN, the NBA Finals series was a television bust in the United States. San Antonio's four-game sweep of Cleveland finished with a record-low 6.2 television rating and 11 share on ABC, Nielsen Media Research said on June 15, 2007.


2007 NBA Finals, Broadcasting, Ratings
That was down 27 percent from the 8.5/15 for Miami's six-game victory over Dallas from the previous year and 5 percent under the previous low, a 6.5/12 for San Antonio's six-game win over New Jersey in 2003.


2007 NBA Finals, Broadcasting, Ratings
San Antonio's series-winning 83-82 victory on Thursday night got a 6.5/12, down 17 percent from the 7.8/14 for Game 4 in 2006.


2007 NBA Finals, Broadcasting, Ratings
Despite having the lowest ratings of any NBA championship series, game two of the 2003 series between San Antonio and New Jersey remains the lowest-rated game of all time in the history of the NBA Finals.


2007 NBA Finals, Aftermath
The Spurs won 56 games in the succeeding 2007–08 season, but relinquished the Southwest Division title to the New Orleans Hornets due to a tie-breaker. The Spurs had the last laugh, though, defeating the Hornets in seven games. But their chance of defending their title was denied by the Los Angeles Lakers in five games of the conference finals.


2007 NBA Finals, Aftermath
After that, age and injury took its toll on the Spurs, as they proceeded to win only a single playoff series in three years (2010, vs. Dallas 4–2 of the first round), before getting upset by the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the 2011 NBA Playoffs despite finishing with 61 wins.


2007 NBA Finals, Aftermath
The Spurs then retooled their roster, after which they appeared in three consecutive conference finals, beginning in 2012, before making the NBA Finals in 2013 and 2014 against James and the Miami Heat. The Spurs split the two Finals meetings against the Heat.


2007 NBA Finals, Aftermath
The Cavaliers won 45 games in the 2007–08 season, despite early-season contract issues involving center Anderson Varejão and guard Sasha Pavlović, and a mid-season trade for Ben Wallace. They fell in the second round to the eventual NBA champions Boston Celtics in seven games, after a hard-fought duel involving LeBron James and Paul Pierce. The Cavaliers would earn the league's best record for the next two years (66 and 61 wins, respectively) and boast the NBA's MVP in James.


2007 NBA Finals, Aftermath
However, they were unable to win it all, losing to the Orlando Magic in six games of the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals and the Celtics in six games of the 2010 Eastern Conference Semifinals (allowing the Lakers to win the Finals twice against the Magic and Celtics). The latter playoff defeat would cost head coach Mike Brown his job, though he was later re-hired (and fired again) in the 2013–14 NBA season. After that season, as a free agent, James left for the Miami Heat and helped them to four successive NBA Finals appearances, winning in 2012 and 2013, while the Cavaliers sunk to an Eastern Conference-low 19 wins in the 2010–11 NBA season, which included a 26-game losing streak.


2007 NBA Finals, Aftermath
The Cavaliers then appeared in the NBA draft lottery four consecutive times, earning the top pick in three of them. Those three top picks became Kyrie Irving (2011), Anthony Bennett (2013) and Andrew Wiggins (2014) (Bennett and Wiggins were later traded to Minnesota for Kevin Love). In July 2014, James announced his return to the Cavaliers after the hiring of coach David Blatt, and they reached the conference finals against the Atlanta Hawks with a 4-0 sweep before falling to the Golden State Warriors in the Finals 4-2. The following season, the Cavaliers returned to the Finals in a rematch against the Golden State Warriors and won the Finals over the Warriors 4-3 with LeBron James winning the Finals MVP.


2007 NBA betting scandal
The 2007 NBA betting scandal was a scandal involving the National Basketball Association (NBA) and accusations that an NBA referee used his knowledge of relationships between referees, coaches, players and owners to bet on professional basketball games. In July 2007, reports of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were made public, which alleged that during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 NBA seasons, referee Tim Donaghy bet on games in which he officiated.


2007 NBA betting scandal
On August 15, 2007, Donaghy pleaded guilty to two federal charges related to the investigation, and a year later he was sentenced to 15 months in prison and three years of supervised release.


2007 NBA betting scandal, Initial reports
The story first broke when the New York Post reported that the FBI was investigating allegations that an NBA referee had bet on games. The story was soon picked up by other major news agencies, as it was revealed that Donaghy was the referee under investigation. The reports claimed that Donaghy had started betting on games in 2005, and had connections to organized crime.


2007 NBA betting scandal, Initial reports
The day after the initial reports, NBA commissioner David Stern said that "no amount of effort, time or personnel is being spared to assist in this investigation, to bring to justice an individual who has betrayed the most sacred trust in professional sports, and to take the necessary steps to protect against this ever happening again." He then held a press conference on July 24 to address questions about the investigation. Although he called the Donaghy matter "an isolated case", he also said it was "the most serious situation and worst situation that I have ever experienced".


2007 NBA betting scandal, Initial reports
On July 27, U.S. Congressman Bobby Rush of Illinois, chairman of the Energy and Commerce Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection Subcommittee, asked to meet with Stern regarding the Donaghy matter. In a letter to Stern, Rush indicated that he might call a hearing "should the facts warrant public scrutiny." He also said that the affair could potentially be "one of the most damaging scandals in the history of American sports." On the same day, it was reported that a high school classmate of Donaghy's, and the classmate's boss, had bet on NBA games based on Donaghy's tips. Donaghy later revealed that he was rewarded $2,000 cash for each correct pick based on the tips he would pass along.


2007 NBA betting scandal, Initial reports, Surrender
After the initial reports, Donaghy stayed at his home, before moving to a secure location to avoid the media scrutiny. He surrendered on August 15, 2007, and pleaded guilty to two felony charges of conspiracy. He told judges that he had used coded language to tip others about players' physical condition and player/referee relations, and he specifically admitted to passing information about two games during the 2006–07 season. In total, he received $30,000 to pass inside information to the bookies. Donaghy also admitted that he had a severe gambling addiction, and was on medication to address it. He was released on a $250,000 bond.


2007 NBA betting scandal, Sentencing
On June 11, 2008, Donaghy alleged in a statement through his lawyers that several series in the NBA Playoffs had been improperly refereed according to the NBA's instructions. He alluded specifically to a playoff game where "personal fouls [resulting in obviously injured players] were ignored even when they occurred in full view of the referees" because "it was in the NBA's interest to add another game to the series."


2007 NBA betting scandal, Sentencing
The game referred to was widely believed to be Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Sacramento Kings, in which the Lakers shot 27 free throws in the fourth quarter. Donaghy also referred to a playoff series where "Team 3's Owner alleged that referees were letting a Team 4 player get away with illegal screens. NBA Executive Y told Referee Supervisor Z that the referees for that game were to enforce the screening rules strictly against that Team 4 player."


2007 NBA betting scandal, Sentencing
The playoff series was believed to be the first-round encounter between the Houston Rockets and the Dallas Mavericks in the 2005 NBA Playoffs. The Rockets led 2–0 in the series before losing in 7 games, and then-Rockets head coach Jeff Van Gundy was fined $100,000 for stating that a referee was targeting Houston center Yao Ming.


2007 NBA betting scandal, Sentencing
On July 29, 2008, Donaghy was sentenced to 15 months in prison, and three years of supervised release. Although his lawyer asked for a probationary sentence, Donaghy admitted that he had "brought shame on myself, my family and the profession."


2007 NBA betting scandal, Sentencing
Donaghy was released from federal prison on November 4, 2009. Before being released he wrote a tell all book on himself and the NBA titled Personal Foul: A First-Person Account of the Scandal That Rocked the NBA. He is under supervised release by a federal parole-type officer.


2007 NBA betting scandal, Reaction
Immediately after the reports were released, several writers said that the NBA's popularity would be hurt by the news. Chris Sheridan of ESPN said that "the general American public has been turning away since the end of the Bulls' dynasty, and this fiasco isn't going to help bring it back," and J. A. Adande said that "the integrity of the games just took a major hit."


2007 NBA betting scandal, Reaction
Sports gambling expert R. J. Bell, president of sports betting information site Pregame.com, tracked every game Donaghy worked from 2003 to 2007. He discovered that during the two seasons investigated by the NBA, the teams involved scored more points than expected by the Las Vegas sports books 57 percent of the time. In the previous two seasons, this only happened 44 percent of the time. According to Bell, the odds of such a discrepancy are 1 in 1,000, and there was "a 99.9 percent chance that these results would not have happened without an outside factor."


2007 NBA betting scandal, Reaction
He also found 10 straight games in 2007 in which Donaghy worked the game that the point spread moved 1.5 points or more before the tip — an indication that big money had been wagered on the game. The big money won every time —another indication that "something (was) going on." However, Bell suggested that there was no way anyone who wasn't in on the fix could have known that something was amiss about Donaghy's actions during a game; he said it would have been another year at the earliest before anyone could have caught on.


2007 NBA betting scandal, Reaction
Handicapper Brandon Lang told ESPN that it is fairly easy for a crooked sports official to fix a game, despite Stern's insistence that Donaghy was a "rogue official". According to Lang, an official can directly influence the outcome of a game 75 percent of the time if he has money on the game. For instance, Lang said that a crooked NBA referee can fix the total score by calling enough fouls to get both teams in the bonus. When a game is being fixed, Lang said, the officials should be the prime suspects because the players are making too much money to risk their future. Lang also believed a bookie connected to the mob turned Donaghy in to the FBI.


2007 NBA betting scandal, Reaction
As a result of the betting scandal, Stern revised the guidelines on the behavior of NBA referees during the Board of Governors' meeting in 2007. Despite the labor agreement for referees, which restricted them from participating in almost all forms of gambling, it was revealed that about half of the NBA's officials had made bets in casinos, albeit not with sportsbooks. In addition, almost all referees had admitted to engaging in some form of gambling.


2007 NBA betting scandal, Reaction
Stern stated that "[the] ban on gambling is absolute, and in my view it is too absolute, too harsh and was not particularly well-enforced over the years". The gambling rules were revised to allow referees to engage in several forms of betting—though not on sports.


2007 NBA betting scandal, Reaction
There were several other referee-related rule changes made: the announcement of referees of a game was moved from 90 minutes before tip-off to the morning of the game, to reduce the value of the information to gamblers; referees received more in-season training and counseling  on gambling; more thorough background checks were carried out; the league declared its intention to analyze the statistical relationship between NBA games and referees' gambling patterns for those games; and the interactions between referees and NBA teams were made easier and more formal.


2007 NBA draft
The 2007 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2007 at the WaMu Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. It was broadcast on television in 115 countries. In this draft, National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players.


2007 NBA draft
Freshman Greg Oden from the Ohio State University was drafted first overall by the Portland Trail Blazers, who won the draft lottery. However, he missed the 2007–08 season due to microfracture surgery on his right knee during the pre-season. Another freshman, Kevin Durant, was drafted second overall from the University of Texas by the Seattle SuperSonics, and went on to win the Rookie of the Year Award for the 2007–08 season. Oden and Durant became the first freshmen to be selected with the top two picks in the draft.


2007 NBA draft
Al Horford, the son of former NBA player Tito Horford, was drafted third by the Atlanta Hawks. Of the three top picks, Durant has been a League MVP, a two-time finals MVP and perennial All-Star whilst Horford has enjoyed a solid All-Star career. Oden, however, was beset by numerous microfracture surgeries on both knees that limited him to only 82 games from 2008 to 2010.


2007 NBA draft
On the night after the draft, the Seattle Supersonics traded seven-time All-Star Ray Allen along with the draft rights of the 35th pick Glen Davis to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak, and the draft rights to the 5th pick, Jeff Green. The Portland Trail Blazers and the New York Knicks were also involved in a multi-player trade that sent Zach Randolph to the Knicks and Steve Francis to the Blazers. Apart from those two trades, nine further draft-day trades were announced.


2007 NBA draft
The 2007 draft marked the first time three players drafted in the top 10 came from the same school: the University of Florida. Florida, the 2007 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Basketball champion, tied the record set by the University of Connecticut in 2006 with five players selected in the first two rounds of an NBA draft. Florida joined nine other schools, including Connecticut, that had five players selected in an NBA draft, second only to UNLV, which had six players selected in the eight-round 1977 draft.


2007 NBA draft
Five players who competed in the 2007 NCAA Basketball National Championship Final were selected in the top 10; three players came from Florida, and two players came from the runner-up, Ohio State University. This draft also set the record number of freshmen drafted in the first round when eight freshmen were selected. Of the 60 players drafted, eight were freshmen, five were sophomores, 14 were juniors, 20 were seniors, and 13 were international players without U.S. college basketball experience.


2007 NBA draft
The Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers and Toronto Raptors all did not have a draft pick this year, although Indiana and Toronto each acquired a drafted player's rights after the draft. As of 2021, the only remaining active players from this draft are Kevin Durant, Al Horford, Mike Conley Jr., Jeff Green, and Thaddeus Young.


2007 NBA draft, Draft selections
^ a: Yi Jianlian's year of birth has been widely disputed, with several sources claiming that Chinese basketball authorities falsified his year of birth from 1984 to 1987 to allow him a longer period of competition in international junior tournaments. A dedicated section of Yi's Wikipedia article discusses this issue and includes sources. ^ b: Joakim Noah, who was born in the United States to a French father and a Swedish mother, has dual U.S. and French citizenship. He has represented France internationally since 2011. ^ c: Taurean Green, who was born in the United States, became a naturalized citizen of Georgia in 2010. He has represented Georgia internationally since 2010.


2007 NBA draft, Notable undrafted players
These players were not selected in the 2007 NBA Draft but have played at least one game in the NBA.


2007 NBA draft, Eligibility
The CBA defines "international players" as players who permanently resided outside the U.S. for three years before the draft, did not complete high school in the U.S., and have never enrolled at a U.S. college or university.


2007 NBA draft, Eligibility
The basic requirement for automatic eligibility for a U.S. player is the completion of his college eligibility. Players who meet the CBA definition of "international players" are automatically eligible if their 22nd birthday falls during or before the calendar year of the draft (i.e., born on or before December 31, 1985).


2007 NBA draft, Eligibility
A player who is not automatically eligible must declare his eligibility for the draft by notifying the NBA offices in writing no later than 60 days before the draft. An early entry candidate is allowed to withdraw his eligibility for the draft by notifying the NBA offices in writing no later than 10 days before the draft. On June 19, 2007, NBA announced that 32 college players and 6 international players had filed as early-entry candidates for the 2007 Draft, while 46 players who had previously declared as early entry candidates had withdrawn from the draft.


2007 NBA draft, Draft lottery
The first 14 picks in the draft belonged to teams that had missed the playoffs; the order was determined through a lottery. The lottery would determine the three teams that would obtain the first three picks on the draft. The remaining first-round picks and the second-round picks were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win-loss record in the previous season. On April 20, 2007, the NBA performed a tie-breaker to determine the order of the picks for teams with identical win-loss record.


2007 NBA draft, Draft lottery
The lottery was held on May 22, 2007 in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Portland Trail Blazers, who had the seventh-worst record in the previous season, won the lottery with just a 5.3% chance to win. This was the fourth time that the Blazers had the first overall draft pick and the first time that the Blazers won the draft lottery since it was introduced in 1985. The Seattle Supersonics, who had the fifth-worst record, and the Atlanta Hawks, who had the fourth-worst record, obtained the second and third pick, respectively.


2007 NBA draft, Draft lottery
Three teams who had the worst records—the Memphis Grizzlies, the Boston Celtics and the Milwaukee Bucks—obtained the fourth, fifth and sixth pick, respectively. These were the lowest possible picks they could have obtained through the lottery. The most recent draft in which the three worst teams did not receive the top three picks was in 1993.


2007 NBA draft, Draft lottery
Below were the chances for each team to get specific picks in the 2007 draft lottery, rounded to three decimal places:


2007 NBA draft, Draft lottery
^ 1: Atlanta Hawks' pick would be conveyed to the Phoenix Suns if it was not in the top three. ^ 2: New York Knicks' pick was conveyed to the Chicago Bulls. ^ 3: Indiana Pacers' pick was conveyed to the Atlanta Hawks because it was not in the top ten.


2007 NBA draft, Trades involving draft picks, Draft-day trades
The following trades involving drafted players were made on the day of the draft.


2007 NBA draft, Trades involving draft picks, Pre-draft trades
Before the draft, the following trades were made and resulted in exchanges of draft picks between the teams.


2007 NBA playoffs
The 2007 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2006–07 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs defeating the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers 4 games to 0 in the NBA Finals. Tony Parker was named NBA Finals MVP, making him the first Spur other than Tim Duncan and the first European-born player to receive the award.


2007 NBA playoffs, Seeding
The playoffs are conducted in 4 rounds of best-of-7 series. The 3 division winners in each conference, along with the 5 best non-division winners in each conference, qualify for the playoffs. The division winners and top second-place team are seeded 1–4 based on record, with the remaining teams seeded 5–8 on record.


2007 NBA playoffs, Seeding
Up until 2006, the division champions were guaranteed no worse than the third seed, while the non-division winners could do no better than the fourth seed regardless of record. This was the source of controversy in the 2006 NBA playoffs, when the 63-win Spurs and 60-win Dallas Mavericks—the teams with the second-best and third-best records in the entire league—met in the conference semifinals. In response, the NBA changed the seeding system so that the teams with the two best records in the conference are guaranteed the top two seeds even if the second-best team isn't a division champion. Meanwhile, the division champions are guaranteed no worse than the fourth seed. This  ensures that the teams with the two best records in the conference cannot meet until the conference finals at the earliest.


2007 NBA playoffs, Playoff qualifying, Eastern Conference
The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the East:


2007 NBA playoffs, Playoff qualifying, Western Conference
The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the West:


2007 NBA playoffs, Bracket
This is the outlook for the 2007 NBA Playoffs. Teams in italics have home court advantage. Teams in bold advance to the next round. Numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's original playoffs seeding in their respective conferences. Numbers to the right of each team indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions possess an asterisk (*)


2007 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (1) Detroit Pistons vs. (8) Orlando Magic
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with each team winning one series apiece.


2007 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (1) Detroit Pistons vs. (8) Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic's first playoff trip in 4 seasons was short lived as the top ranked Detroit Pistons dispatched the upstart Magic in 4 games. The Pistons recorded their first series sweep since sweeping Indiana in the first round of the 1990 NBA Playoffs. The series was also the first time Orlando forward Grant Hill had appeared in the postseason since leaving Detroit after the 2000 season.


2007 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (2) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (7) Washington Wizards
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Cavaliers winning two of the first three meetings.


2007 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (2) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (7) Washington Wizards
A rematch of the previous year's first round series was spoiled when Wizards stars Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler were both forced out of the playoffs due to injuries received in the later parts of the regular season. Without Arenas and Butler, the Wizards were unable to stop LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers from sweeping them out of the playoffs. It was Cleveland's first playoff sweep in franchise history.


2007 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (3) Toronto Raptors vs. (6) New Jersey Nets
This was the first playoff meeting between the Nets and the Raptors.


2007 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (3) Toronto Raptors vs. (6) New Jersey Nets
The Nets won the first round of the 2007 NBA Playoffs in their sixth straight appearance in the NBA Playoffs. The series was the only one in the Eastern Conference first round not to result in a sweep.


2007 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (3) Toronto Raptors vs. (6) New Jersey Nets
The series was notable for pitting ex-Raptor Vince Carter, who was traded to the Nets in 2004 after an acrimonious split, against his former team. So great was the Toronto crowd's disdain for Carter, that he was booed every time he touched the ball. The Nets took home court advantage in Game 1, holding off a late Raptors rally in the fourth quarter. The Raptors pulled away in Game 2 and tied the series at 1. When the series shifted to New Jersey, the Nets took charge of the series, winning Games 3 and 4 in routs.


2007 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (3) Toronto Raptors vs. (6) New Jersey Nets
New Jersey had a chance to win the series in Game 5 in Toronto, but the Raptors took a 20-point lead after one quarter. Still, New Jersey managed to chip away, and had a chance to win it, but Boštjan Nachbar's 3 missed at the buzzer. Needing to win in New Jersey to force a Game 7, Toronto held a one-point lead with under a minute to play in Game 6, but Richard Jefferson hit a layup with 8 seconds left. Toronto attempted to try for the game-winning shot, but Jefferson intercepted the pass to seal the series for the Nets.


2007 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (4) Miami Heat vs. (5) Chicago Bulls
This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Bulls winning three of the first four meetings.


2007 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (4) Miami Heat vs. (5) Chicago Bulls
The Bulls won their first playoff series since the 1998 NBA Finals and the retirement of Michael Jordan. This was the Bulls first 4-game sweep, since sweeping the Magic in the 1996 Eastern Conference Finals. Meanwhile, Miami became the first defending champion since 1957 to be swept in the First Round the following season.


2007 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (4) Miami Heat vs. (5) Chicago Bulls
In addition, Southeast Division champions Miami and other division qualifiers Washington and Orlando were swept (0–12) by Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit respectively, all from the Central Division (12–0).


2007 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (1) Dallas Mavericks vs. (8) Golden State Warriors
This was the first playoff meeting between the Mavericks and the Warriors.


2007 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (1) Dallas Mavericks vs. (8) Golden State Warriors
The Warriors qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 1994, the second longest such streak in league history. However, the Warriors were heavy underdogs against the Dallas Mavericks despite sweeping the regular season series between the teams, as Dallas had one of the best records in NBA regular season history. Expectations of a short series were immediately dashed by Golden State's Game 1 victory in Dallas, behind guard Baron Davis and his rather frantic style of play. The Mavericks came back to win Game 2 to tie the series at 1.


2007 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (1) Dallas Mavericks vs. (8) Golden State Warriors
But when the series shifted to Oakland for the next two games, a new X-factor emerged for the Warriors: their home crowd at the Oracle Arena. The electric crowd, which was the highest paid attendance crowd for an NBA game in the history of that arena, gave the Warriors a huge lift as they blew out Dallas in Game 3, and edged out a close victory in Game 4. As the series shifted back to Dallas, the top-ranked Mavericks found themselves one game from seeing their record breaking season end prematurely.


2007 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (1) Dallas Mavericks vs. (8) Golden State Warriors
The Mavericks gave their all and staved off elimination in Game 5, but had nothing left in Game 6 in Oakland.


2007 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (1) Dallas Mavericks vs. (8) Golden State Warriors
The Warriors used a third-quarter 18–0 run, sparked by Stephen Jackson's 13 straight points en route to a franchise playoff record seven 3-pointers, and an unexpected collapse from MVP candidate Dirk Nowitzki (2–13 from the field with 8 points) to finish Dallas and become the first #8 seed to win a best-of-7 series in the first round, and just the third overall in NBA history, following the Denver Nuggets in 1994 and the New York Knicks en route to the 1999 NBA Finals. The Warriors also won their first playoff series since 1991. The Mavericks also became the second team who had a 65+ winning record not to win a championship, the first being the 1972–73 Boston Celtics, and the most recently, the 2017-18 Houston Rockets. To date, they are the only ones who were eliminated in the first round.


2007 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (1) Dallas Mavericks vs. (8) Golden State Warriors
Both 2006 NBA Finalists (Dallas and Miami) were eliminated in the first round despite being top 4 seeds. This was the first time since 1957 that this had happened. This would not happen again until 2021 when the NBA Finalists from the previous season (L.A. Lakers and Miami Heat) were eliminated in the first round as lower-seeded teams.


2007 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (2) Phoenix Suns vs. (7) Los Angeles Lakers
This was the 11th playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning seven of the first ten meetings.


2007 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (2) Phoenix Suns vs. (7) Los Angeles Lakers
Kobe Bryant and the Lakers went up against the high powered Phoenix Suns in a rematch of the previous year's first round series, which saw the Lakers take a 3–1 lead before the Suns took the series in 7. Unlike the previous series, the Suns had near complete control of the series, taking the series in 5. The Suns advanced to their third straight conference semifinals by eliminating the Lakers in the first round for the second straight year. In Game 4, Phoenix point guard Steve Nash made a run at the record for most assists in a playoff game, finishing one shy of the record 24 shared by Magic Johnson and John Stockton.


2007 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (3) San Antonio Spurs vs. (6) Denver Nuggets
This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Spurs winning four of the first five meetings.


2007 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (3) San Antonio Spurs vs. (6) Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets duo of Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson got Denver off to a fast start, winning Game 1 and taking home-court advantage away from Tim Duncan and the Spurs. Despite the early letdown, the Spurs showed their championship mettle and bounced back for a 97-88 win in Game 2. In the pivotal Game 3, the Nuggets built an eight-point first-quarter lead before Manu Ginóbili's eight second-quarter points put San Antonio up 43-40 at halftime. A back-and-forth contest turned in the final 2:24 of the third quarter: Michael Finley hit two 3-pointers, and Robert Horry later hit a 3 that gave the Spurs a 75-67 lead at the end of the quarter. They hung on for a 96-91 win.


2007 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (3) San Antonio Spurs vs. (6) Denver Nuggets
Denver started strong again in Game 4 and led by eight at halftime. But San Antonio stormed back after Anthony went to the bench in the third quarter with his fourth foul. The Spurs held a one-point lead with 30 seconds left when Horry, playing for his seventh championship ring, hit a 3 from the right corner to help seal a 96-89 win. The stunned Nuggets did not recover from the Game 4 letdown.


2007 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (3) San Antonio Spurs vs. (6) Denver Nuggets
Finley was the hero in Game 5, hitting a team-playoff-record eight threes for 26 points as San Antonio won 93-78 to end the series, marking the Nuggets' fourth straight season where they lost in the first round in five games. This is the second time in three seasons that the Nuggets lost the first-round series to the Spurs, after taking Game 1 in San Antonio (the first also happened in five games).


2007 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (4) Utah Jazz vs. (5) Houston Rockets
This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Jazz winning three of the first five meetings.


2007 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (4) Utah Jazz vs. (5) Houston Rockets
The resurgent Utah Jazz, fresh off one of their best seasons since the John Stockton/Karl Malone years, faced Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady and the Houston Rockets, who were seeking their first playoff series victory in 10 years. Home court advantage proved to be the key as the series progressed, as both the Rockets and the Jazz won closely contested matches in front of their home crowds.


2007 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (4) Utah Jazz vs. (5) Houston Rockets
As a result, the series had to go to a seventh and deciding game, which was played in Houston since the Rockets had the better record and thereby earned home court advantage, despite the division-winning Jazz being the higher-seeded team. Nevertheless, Utah overcame the Houston crowd and stunned the Rockets for the win on the road.


2007 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (4) Utah Jazz vs. (5) Houston Rockets
The Jazz became only the third road team in history to win Game 7 of a seven-game series in which the home team won each of the first six games, after the Boston Celtics in the 1969 NBA Finals and the Baltimore Bullets in the 1971 Eastern Conference Finals. Houston's Tracy McGrady lost his sixth straight post-season series (out of 10 seasons) and has never played past the first round in his entire career.


2007 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (4) Utah Jazz vs. (5) Houston Rockets
After losing the series, the Rockets failed to reach a new contract agreement with their head coach Jeff Van Gundy, who was subsequently fired.


2007 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (1) Detroit Pistons vs. (5) Chicago Bulls
This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Pistons winning three of the first five meetings.


2007 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (1) Detroit Pistons vs. (5) Chicago Bulls
In a renewal of a rivalry from the late '80s and early '90s, the Chicago Bulls and the Detroit Pistons faced off against each other. This was also the first time since 1995 that teams from the two cities met in a major league postseason or game. The series began fairly one-sided as the Pistons took Games 1 and 2 in Detroit in blowout fashion, followed by another convincing victory in Game 3 in Chicago. In all 3 games, the Bulls looked severely outmatched against the more experienced Pistons squad.


2007 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (1) Detroit Pistons vs. (5) Chicago Bulls
Expectations were low for the Bulls, since no NBA team has ever won a seven-game series after being down 3–0. (It has only happened five times total in sports history, the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, 1975 New York Islanders, 2004 Boston Red Sox, 2010 Philadelphia Flyers and 2014 Los Angeles Kings.)


2007 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (1) Detroit Pistons vs. (5) Chicago Bulls
Despite the huge obstacle, the Bulls rallied to take Game 4 in a romp, and then proceeded to shock everyone with a blow-out victory in Detroit in Game 5. Despite the renewed momentum, the Pistons' playoff experience ultimately won out as they closed out the Bulls in a 95-85 Game 6 win. The Pistons advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the fifth straight year.


2007 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (2) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (6) New Jersey Nets
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Cavaliers winning the first two meetings.


2007 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (2) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (6) New Jersey Nets
The Cavaliers advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 1992, while the Nets lost in the Conference Semifinals in three out of the last four years. Game 6 was the final playoff game at the Continental Airlines Arena, while also the last NBA playoff game ever played in New Jersey (the Prudential Center never hosted an NBA playoff game during the Nets' tenure from 2010–2012).


2007 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (2) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (6) New Jersey Nets
New Jersey Nets point guard Jason Kidd averaged a triple double the entire playoffs, scoring 14.6 points, grabbing 10.9 rebounds and dishing out 10.9 assists per game.


2007 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (2) Phoenix Suns vs. (3) San Antonio Spurs
This was the eighth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Spurs winning four of the first seven meetings.


2007 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (2) Phoenix Suns vs. (3) San Antonio Spurs
The highly anticipated match-up between the high-powered Phoenix Suns, led by 2-time MVP Steve Nash, and the fundamentally sound San Antonio Spurs, led by 3-time Finals MVP Tim Duncan, had high expectations before the series tip-off. The Suns were looking to make the conference finals for the third straight year, and also looking for their first Finals berth since 1993. The Spurs on the other hand, were looking for their third trip in five years, and their fourth NBA title overall. The series received international interest with a playoff-record of 12 players originating outside the US. When the series ended, it had become one of the most hotly contested and controversial series in recent NBA history.


2007 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (2) Phoenix Suns vs. (3) San Antonio Spurs
The Suns had their home court advantage quickly taken away as the Spurs took a tight Game 1, a game that saw Nash missing the final minutes for Phoenix due to a gash to his nose, which bled profusely. Nash and the Suns recovered to take Game 2 but after the game, Suns forward Amar'e Stoudemire accused the Spurs, especially Bruce Bowen and Manu Ginóbili, of being a dirty team. Despite the added scrutiny by the media circles, the Spurs won Game 3. The Suns, trying to overcome their recent failures against Texas teams in the playoffs (the Spurs and the Mavericks both defeated them in the Conference Finals), willed themselves to a come-from-behind victory in Game 4 to tie the series at 2.


2007 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (2) Phoenix Suns vs. (3) San Antonio Spurs
However, the celebration was short-lived. In the closing minute of Game 4, with the Suns up 3, Nash brought up the ball and was shoved into the press table by Robert Horry, creating a momentary ruckus, wherein Raja Bell received a technical. As this took place, Stoudemire and Boris Diaw left the Suns bench. Although they were not involved in the altercation, they broke an established NBA rule that prohibits players from leaving the bench during an altercation. As a result, the NBA suspended Stoudemire and Diaw for one game, while Horry received a two-game suspension for the flagrant foul and ejection. Severely undermanned, the Suns came into Game 5 with the task of beating the Spurs without their star big man.


2007 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (2) Phoenix Suns vs. (3) San Antonio Spurs
Although the Suns were able to control most of the game without the suspended players, even taking a 16-point lead on the Spurs at one point, the Spurs came back to win an incredibly close Game 5. Diaw and Stoudemire did return for the Suns in Game 6, though that didn't help the Suns to force a Game 7 and the Spurs eliminated them to advance to the Western Conference Finals with a 114-106 win.


2007 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (4) Utah Jazz vs. (8) Golden State Warriors
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Warriors winning the first two meetings.


2007 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (4) Utah Jazz vs. (8) Golden State Warriors
Fresh off their stunning upset of the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks, the Golden State Warriors faced a very different team in Utah. The Warriors continued the frantic style of play they exhibited against the Mavericks, but the Jazz, a more defensive-minded team, managed to shut them down to take Game 1. The Warriors tried to bounce back in Game 2, and took the Jazz to overtime. But the Jazz were able to prevail, due to the inspired clutch play of guard Derek Fisher, who arrived at halftime after being with his family in New York City because of his daughter's emergency eye cancer surgery.


2007 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (4) Utah Jazz vs. (8) Golden State Warriors
The series shifted back to Oakland and the raucous Oracle Arena crowd, which lifted the Warriors to a resounding blowout in Game 3, a game which saw the Warriors hit a playoff record 11 threes in the first half. However, the Jazz shrugged off the crowd and handed the Warriors their only playoff home loss of the year in Game 4. The Warriors' playoff run ended as the Jazz finished them off in Game 5. The Jazz advanced to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 1998.


2007 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Eastern Conference Finals, (1) Detroit Pistons vs. (2) Cleveland Cavaliers
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Pistons winning the first meeting.


2007 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Eastern Conference Finals, (1) Detroit Pistons vs. (2) Cleveland Cavaliers
In a rematch of the thrilling 2006 second-round series, the Pistons and Cavaliers matched up in perhaps one of the most closely contested series in NBA history, with the first five games being decided by six points or less. The spotlight fell on LeBron James. Despite gaining some momentum in the opening games of the series against the experienced Pistons, key last-second decisions by James led to Cleveland losses in Games 1 and 2 in Detroit, by identical scores, in which Cleveland led for most of the two games. They faced a 0–2 deficit for the second straight year, but would easily remember from the year before that they could win three straight games to get back into the series.


2007 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Eastern Conference Finals, (1) Detroit Pistons vs. (2) Cleveland Cavaliers
With media circles on his back for his complacency in these games (James had a then playoff career low 10 points in Game 1), James came back to will the Cavs to close victories in Games 3 and 4 in Cleveland, evening the series at 2. The series shifted back to Detroit for a Game 5 that proved to be one of the most memorable postseason games in recent NBA history. In a match that went into double overtime, the Cavaliers stunned the Pistons on their home court, thanks to LeBron James' playoff career-high 48-point performance.


2007 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Eastern Conference Finals, (1) Detroit Pistons vs. (2) Cleveland Cavaliers
James scored the Cavaliers' final 25 points, including all 18 points in overtime, forced the second OT with a driving dunk and made a driving layup with 2.2 seconds left in the second OT to silence the Palace crowd. A game tying buzzer beater by Chauncey Billups rimmed out making it two straight 2-point wins at the Palace in Game 5.


2007 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Eastern Conference Finals, (1) Detroit Pistons vs. (2) Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavaliers took advantage of their home court in 2007 and exploded in Game 6 to close out the Pistons, and to clinch the franchise's first trip to the NBA Finals. Rookie Daniel Gibson scored a career-high 31 points, including five 3-pointers, to lift the Cavs in the second half behind a roaring home crowd.


2007 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals, (3) San Antonio Spurs vs. (4) Utah Jazz
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Jazz winning the first three meetings.


2007 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals, (3) San Antonio Spurs vs. (4) Utah Jazz
For the first time since 1990, neither the #1 nor #2 seed participated in the Western Conference Finals. However, the series pitted youth against experience as the up-and-coming Utah Jazz faced off against the seasoned San Antonio Spurs. Coming into the series, the Jazz were not given much of a chance due to their inexperience. However, Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams and the Jazz were able to hold their own against San Antonio for a good part of the series.


2007 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals, (3) San Antonio Spurs vs. (4) Utah Jazz
Unfortunately, it was not enough. The series' first 2 games – both San Antonio home victories – saw the Spurs blow big first-half leads and the Jazz mount last-gasp rallies that were thwarted by San Antonio's clutch shooting. When the Spurs' 19-point first-half lead dwindled to 95-87 late in the fourth quarter of Game 1, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginóbili came through with timely shots down the stretch. When San Antonio's 22-point edge shrank to 83-76 late in Game 2, Bruce Bowen broke Utah's rhythm with a 3 from the left corner and another from the right to end the threat.


2007 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals, (3) San Antonio Spurs vs. (4) Utah Jazz
The Jazz, who were undefeated at home in the postseason coming into the series, had their most cohesive effort in a 109-83 Game 3 rout. Utah pestered Duncan into early foul trouble and got baskets from players other than Williams and Boozer, who had combined for 57.7% of their team's points through the first two games. But Jazz fans' euphoria over the team's only series victory gave way to frustration in Game 4 – with most of it aimed at Ginóbili and his flopping.


2007 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals, (3) San Antonio Spurs vs. (4) Utah Jazz
11 of his 16 fourth-quarter points came at the foul line in an ugly overall team performance in which the Spurs made more free throws (30) than field goals (28). Contributing to that discrepancy were four technical fouls called against Utah in the fourth. The subsequent ejections of Utah head coach Jerry Sloan and Jazz guard Derek Fisher had a charged-up EnergySolutions Arena crowd raining debris onto the court in protest.


2007 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals, (3) San Antonio Spurs vs. (4) Utah Jazz
The unflappable Spurs responded with yet another commanding start in Game 5. They outscored the Jazz by 19 in the first quarter and led by as many as 29. Not even another late-game arrival of Fisher (from New York again) could help the Jazz enough and the Spurs won a 109-84 series-clinching victory and an eventual date in the NBA Finals with the Cavaliers.


2007 NBA playoffs, NBA Finals: (W3) San Antonio Spurs vs. (E2) Cleveland Cavaliers
This was the first playoff meeting between the Cavaliers and the Spurs.


2007 NBA playoffs, NBA Finals: (W3) San Antonio Spurs vs. (E2) Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavaliers, led by superstar LeBron James, entered the 2007 Finals looking for their first franchise championship, as well as the first championship for a pro team based out of Cleveland since the Cleveland Browns won the 1964 National Football League Championship. However, the Cavs were considered heavy underdogs against the 3-time champion Spurs. The Spurs' veteran leadership and championship experience overwhelmed the Cavs, who were swept by the Spurs after two blowouts in San Antonio and two close games in Cleveland.


2007 NBA playoffs, Broadcasters, NBA Finals
This was between the Cavaliers and the Spurs, with the Spurs sweeping the series.


2007 NC State Wolfpack football team
The 2007 NC State Wolfpack football team represented North Carolina State University during the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team's head coach was Tom O'Brien. NC State has been a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) since the league's inception in 1953, and has participated in that conference's Atlantic Division since 2005. The Wolfpack played its home games in 2007 at Carter–Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina, which has been NC State football's home stadium since 1966.


2007 NC7
2007 NC7, also written as 2007 NC7, is a trans-Neptunian object and centaur from the outer Solar System, approximately 106 kilometers in diameter. It was first observed on 11 July 2007, by American astronomers Megan Schwamb, Michael Brown and David Rabinowitz at Palomar Observatory in California.


2007 NC7
The object has a high eccentricity of 0.49. It comes within 17 AU of the Sun (inside the orbit of Uranus) and goes as far as 50 AU at aphelion (near the Kuiper cliff). It passed perihelion in September 1996.


2007 NC7
For comparison, among the well-established, highly eccentric orbits formally classified as plutinos, the orbit of (15788) 1993 SB has an eccentricity of 0.318.


2007 NC7
It has only been observed twenty-six times over four oppositions.


2007 NCAA Bowling Championship
The 2007 NCAA Bowling Championship was the fourth annual tournament to determine the national champion of women's NCAA collegiate ten-pin bowling. The tournament was played in Apopka, Florida during April 2007.


2007 NCAA Bowling Championship
Vanderbilt defeated Maryland–Eastern Shore in the championship match, 4 games to 3, to win their first national title.


2007 NCAA Bowling Championship, Qualification
Since there is only one national collegiate championship for women's bowling, all NCAA bowling programs (whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III) were eligible. A total of 8 teams were invited to contest this championship, which consisted of a modified double-elimination style tournament.


2007 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
The 2007 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament was held from June 1 to 24, 2007. Sixty-four NCAA Division I college baseball teams  advanced to the post season tournament after having played through a regular season, and for some, a conference tournament.


2007 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
The 2007 tournament culminated with 8 teams advancing to the College World Series at historic Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska, on June 15. Unseeded Oregon State repeated as national champions, winning all five of its games in the 2007 CWS.


2007 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
Oregon State went undefeated through the College World Series, posting a 5-0 record. The Beavers, led by head coach Pat Casey, won all three games in their four-team bracket and then defeated North Carolina in two games in the best-of-three championship series. Oregon State became the fifth team to win consecutive NCAA titles (last done by LSU in 1996-97), and were the first team to win four games in a CWS by six or more runs.


2007 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
As of 2019, 2007 Oregon State remains the only team to have ever won at least four games by six or more runs in the same College World Series. Their opener against Cal State Fullerton was a tight 3-2 victory, but OSU's last four games in the CWS were not close, impressive for a team seeded in the lower half of the 64-team tournament.


2007 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
The Beavers also became the first team to win the CWS after having posted a losing conference record. Oregon State was a disappointing 10-14 (.417) in the Pac-10, placing sixth among the nine baseball-playing schools (Oregon dropped baseball in 1981, but revived it in 2009.)


2007 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
However, the Beavers' non-conference record during the regular season was an impressive 28-3 (.903), and as defending NCAA champions, just enough to gain a berth in the 64-team tournament. They were placed as a No. 3 seed in one of the 16 four-team regionals, in Charlottesville, Virginia. Oregon State responded by going 11-1 (.917) in the post season. Oregon State won their final 10 games to finish at 49-18 (.731) overall. The Beavers trailed in only one inning of 2007 CWS: the first inning of the final game. Their only loss in the post season came during the second game of regionals, where they fell in 13 innings to host Virginia.


2007 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
Oregon State freshman pitcher Jorge Reyes (of Warden, Washington) was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2007 CWS. Reyes was 2-0 as a starter, defeating Cal State Fullerton in the opener and North Carolina in the first game of the finals.


2007 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
Two elite programs from Louisiana, LSU and Tulane both failed to qualify for the field of 64, marking the first time since 1984 both schools stayed home. LSU reached the College World Series 13 times between 1986 and 2004, winning five national championships (1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000), while Tulane made trips to the CWS in 2001 and 2005.


2007 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, Bids, Automatic bids
Conference champions from 30 Division I conferences earned automatic bids to regionals. The remaining 34 spots were awarded to schools as at-large invitees.


2007 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, Regionals and Super Regionals, Schedule
Regional rounds were held Friday, June 1, through Monday, June 4. Each regional followed a similar format, with two games played on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and one on Monday if needed (many regionals in the southern U.S. had their schedules adversely affected by rain)


2007 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, Regionals and Super Regionals, Schedule
Best-of-three super regionals were held Friday, June 8 through Monday, June 11. Four series were played Friday-Sunday and four series were played Saturday-Monday.


2007 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
The 2007 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships were the 69th annual NCAA Men's Division I Cross Country Championship and the 27th annual NCAA Women's Division I Cross Country Championship to determine the team and individual national champions of NCAA Division I men's and women's collegiate cross country running in the United States. In all, four different titles were contested: men's and women's individual and team championships.


2007 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
Held on November 19, 2007, the combined meet was the fourth of eight consecutive meets hosted by Indiana State University at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana. The distance for the men's race was 10 kilometers (6.21 miles) while the distance for the women's race was 6 kilometers (3.73 miles).


2007 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
The men's team championship was won by Oregon (85 points), the Ducks' fifth (and first since 1977). The women's team championship was again won by Stanford (195 points), the Cardinal's fourth overall, second consecutive, and third in four years.


2007 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
The two individual champions were, for the men, Josh McDougal (Liberty, 29:22.4) and, for the women, Sally Kipyego (Texas Tech, 19:30.9).


2007 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
Three polls and one formulaic ranking make up the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) football rankings, in addition to various publications' preseason polls. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship title. That title is bestowed by one or more of four different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason: the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. About halfway through the season, two additional polls are released, the Harris Interactive Poll and the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Standings. The Harris Poll and Coaches Poll are factors in the BCS Standings. At the end of the season, the BCS Standings determine who plays in the BCS bowl games as well as the BCS National Championship Game.


2007 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings, AP Poll
As a result of Michigan's loss to Division I FCS Appalachian State, the AP Poll changed its policy on not allowing pollsters to vote for Division I FCS opponents. Now, if the Division I-FCS team has played a Division I FBS team, they are eligible to be voted for in the AP Poll.


2007 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings, BCS Standings
The Bowl Championship Series determined the two teams that competed in the 2008 BCS National Championship Game.


2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season
The 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).


2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season
The regular season began on August 30, 2007 and ended on December 1, 2007. The postseason concluded on January 7, 2008 with the BCS National Championship Game in New Orleans, where the No. 2-ranked LSU Tigers defeated the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes to win their second BCS and third overall national title.


2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season
For just the second time in the Bowl Championship Series era, no FBS team finished the season undefeated. Kansas was the only team from a BCS automatic-qualifying conference to finish the entire season with just one loss.


2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Rules changes
After coaches expressed their disapproval of the timing changes made in the 2006 season, the following changes were made:


2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Rules changes
The attempt to reduce the time of games sought by those rules was successful, reducing the average college football page from 3:21 hours in 2005 to 3:07 hours in 2006. However, the reduced game time also reduced the average number of plays in a game by 13, 66 fewer offensive yards per game and average points per game by 5.


2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Conference and program changes
The only change in conference membership for the 2007 season occurred when Temple left its Independent status to become the 13th member of the Mid-American Conference.


2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Conference and program changes
No teams upgraded from Division I FCS, leaving the number of Division I FBS schools fixed at 119.


2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Regular season top 10 matchups
Rankings reflect the AP Poll. Rankings for Week 7 and beyond will list BCS Rankings first and AP Poll second. Teams that failed to be a top 10 team for one poll or the other will be noted.


2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Year of the Upset and "The Curse of No. 2", Year of the Upset
The 2007 season was highlighted by the remarkable frequency with which ranked teams fell to lower-ranked or unranked opponents, leading the media to dub the season as the "Year of the Upset". An unranked or lower-ranked opponent defeated a higher-ranked team 59 times over the course of the regular season. Teams ranked in the top five of the AP Poll were defeated by unranked opponents 13 times during the regular season, setting a new record in the history of the AP Poll when at least 20 teams were ranked. The only other season to see more such upsets was 1967, which was one of seven seasons when the AP Poll ranked only 10 teams.


2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Year of the Upset and "The Curse of No. 2", Year of the Upset
The chaos began on the first weekend of the season when FCS program Appalachian State defeated No. 5 Michigan on the road at Michigan Stadium in what was immediately hailed as one of the greatest upsets in the history of college football. Appalachian State became just the second FCS team to defeat a ranked FBS opponent, and the first to do so against a top-five team.


2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Year of the Upset and "The Curse of No. 2", "Curse of the No. 2"
The 2007 season became known for the "Curse of the No. 2 ", where the team ranked No. 2 by the AP Poll was defeated seven times in the final nine weeks of the regular season:


2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Year of the Upset and "The Curse of No. 2", "Curse of the No. 2"
The No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams had not lost in the same week of the season since 1996. In 2007 alone, No. 1 and No. 2 fell during the same weekend three times, including in both of the final two weeks of the regular season:


2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Conference champions, Conference championship games
All games were played on December 1, 2007. Rankings reflect the Week 14 AP Poll before the games were played.


2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Bowl games, Bowl Challenge Cup standings
† Winner of the Bowl Challenge Cup–§ NCAA record for bowl victories in a conference in one bowl season.


2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Awards and honors, Heisman Trophy voting
The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player.


2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Milestones
The following teams and players set all-time NCAA Division I FBS (formerly Division I-A) records during the season:


2007 NCAA Division I FCS football rankings
The following weekly polls comprise the 2007 NCAA Division I FCS football rankings that determined the top 25 teams at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision level of college football for the 2007 season. The Sports Network poll is voted by media members while the Coaches' Poll is determined by coaches at the FCS level.


2007 NCAA Division I FCS football season
The 2007 NCAA Division I FCS football season, the 2007 season of college football for teams in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), began on August 25, 2007, and concluded on December 14, 2007, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, at the 2007 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game, where the Appalachian State Mountaineers defeated the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens to win the NCAA Division I Football Championship.


2007 NCAA Division I FCS football season, Rule changes for 2007
The clock rules adopted in the 2006 season were reversed, after coaches in all divisions disapproved of them. The attempt to reduce the time of games sought by those rules was successful, reducing the average college football game from 3 hours and 21 minutes in 2005 to 3 hours and 7 seven minutes in 2006. The reduced game time also reduced the average number of plays in a game by 13, fewer offensive yards per game by 66, and average points per game by 5.