2018 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West
The 2018 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West was the sixty-fifth season of the K&N Pro Series West, a regional stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR. It began with the Bakersfield 175 presented by NAPA Auto Parts at Kern County Raceway Park on March 15 and concluded with the NAPA Auto Parts 175 presented by West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame at Kern County Raceway Park on October 27. Todd Gilliland entered the season as the defending Drivers' champion; however, he did not go for three in a row, because he moved up to the Truck Series in 2018. Derek Thorn, the 2013 West Series champion, won his second championship in his first full season since his first title, 27 points in front of his Sunrise Ford Racing teammate Ryan Partridge, who also returned to the series in 2018 after a year off in 2017.


2018 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, Schedule
On December 11, 2017, NASCAR announced the 2018 schedule. The two races at Irwindale were dropped from the schedule in favor of a second race at Tucson and a race at Gateway. The Las Vegas Motor Speedway dirt track was added to the schedule, marking the series' first race on dirt since 1979 at Ascot Park. All races in the season are televised on NBCSN on a tape delay basis.


2018 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, Results and standings, Drivers' championship
(key) Bold – Pole position awarded by time. Italics – Pole position set by final practice results or Owners' points. * – Most laps led.


2018 NASCAR PEAK Mexico Series
The 2018 NASCAR PEAK Mexico Series was the eleventh season of the NASCAR PEAK Mexico Series and the fourteenth season organized by NASCAR Mexico. It began with the Gran Premio Difrenosa at Autódromo Monterrey on 25 March and concluded with the Gran Premio FedEx at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez on 2 December. Abraham Calderón entered the season as the defending Drivers' champion. Rubén García Jr. won the championship, nineteen points in front of Irwin Vences. And Fabián Welter was declared the Rookie of the Year.


2018 NASCAR PEAK Mexico Series, Schedule
On 25 January 2018, NASCAR announced the 2018 schedule. León and Pachuca were dropped from the schedule in favor of El Dorado and a road course race at Aguascalientes. The race in El Marqués was held on the road course instead of the oval.


2018 NASCAR PEAK Mexico Series, Results and standings, Drivers' championship
(key) Bold – Pole position awarded by time. Italics – Pole position set by final practice results or Owners' points. * – Most laps led.


2018 NASCAR Pinty's Series
The 2018 NASCAR Pinty's Series was the twelfth season of the Pinty's Series, the national stock car racing series in Canada sanctioned by NASCAR. It began with the Clarington 200 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on 20 May and concluded with the Pinty's Fall Brawl at Jukasa Motor Speedway on 29 September. Alex Labbé entered the season as the defending Drivers' champion. Louis-Philippe Dumoulin won the championship, seven points in front of Alex Tagliani.


2018 NASCAR Pinty's Series, Schedule
On 27 November 2017, NASCAR announced the 2018 schedule. Delaware and ICAR were dropped from the schedule in favor of a second race at Jukasa and a race at New Hampshire, which marked the first race in series history outside Canada.


2018 NASCAR Pinty's Series, Results and standings, Drivers' championship
(key) Bold – Pole position awarded by time. Italics – Pole position set by final practice results or Owners' points. * – Most laps led.


2018 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series
The 2018 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series is the tenth Racecar Euro Series season, and the sixth under the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series branding. The season consisted of six meetings – with two races at each meeting – starting on 14 April at Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, and ending on 21 October at Circuit Zolder in Belgium. Alon Day and Thomas Ferrando entered the season as the defending champion in Elite 1 and Elite 2 respectively.


2018 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series
In the Elite 1 class, Alon Day successfully defended his Elite 1 title, winning the championship by 28 points over Frédéric Gabillon. In the Elite 2 class, Ulysse Delsaux scored his first NASCAR Euro Series title, ahead of Go Fas Racing's Florian Venturi by six points. RDV Compétition won the team's championship title, while Toyota won their first Euro Series manufacturer's title.


2018 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, Teams and drivers
NASCAR released the entry list for the teams participating on 15 March 2018.


2018 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, Season report
In the Elite 1 class, the championship was closely contested by defending champion Alon Day of CAAL Racing and Frédéric Gabillon of RDV Compétition. Day initially got the upper hand after winning the first three races of the season, but his championship campaign received a setback when he got disqualified at the second race in Franciacorta due to technical infringements during post-race inspection. Gabillon took the championship lead soon after and would lead the championship by the time the playoffs begin at Hockenheim.


2018 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, Season report
Problems for both Gabillon and Day at Hockenheim, however, allowed Lucas Lasserre of Mishumotors and rookie Loris Hezemans of Hendriks Motorsport to close up the gap, setting up a four-way battle for the title at Zolder. Ultimately, retirements for both Lasserre and Hezemans during the first race of the Zolder race meet effectively eliminated them from title contention, and with Gabillon unable to match Day's pace for the weekend, Alon Day was crowned champion after winning his seventh race of the season at the final race of the season.


2018 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, Season report
Alon Day's seven race wins set a new record for the most races won in a single Elite 1 Euro Series season, one short of Stienes Longin's overall record of 8 wins in the 2016 Elite 2 season. Gabillon won two races (Brands Hatch 1 and Tours 1), while Lassere (Franciacorta 2), Hezemans (Hockenheim 1), and 2015 Elite 2 champion Gianmarco Ercoli (Brands Hatch 2) scored one race win each.


2018 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, Season report
In the Elite 2 class, the championship was closely fought between four drivers: Ulysse Delsaux of RDV Compétition, defending champions Wilfried Boucenna of Knauf Racing, Florian Venturi of Go Fas Racing, and the returning Guillaume Deflandre for Memphis Racing. Boucenna initially took the championship lead after sweeping both races at Valencia. However, problems for Boucenna at Franciacorta Race 2 allowed Deflandre to caught up to him, and further problems for Boucenna at the first race of Brands Hatch race meet allowed Deflandre to take the championship lead.


2018 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, Season report
Delsaux then sweeps the Tours race week to take the lead in the championship, and looks set to sweep the Hockenheim race week had a tire failure in the second race at Hockenheim didn't force him to retire from the race. This allowed Deflandre, Boucenna, and a resurgent Venturi to set up a four-way battle for the championship.


2018 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, Season report
A costly retirement at race 1 of Zolder ultimately took out Deflandre of the championship hunt, and while Venturi was able to score a win and a second-place finish at Zolder, Delsaux had enough gap between him and Venturi to take the championship with a third-place finish at the final race of the season. Delsaux also scored the most race wins of the season with three (Tours sweep and Hockenheim 1). Venturi (Brands Hatch 2 and Zolder 1), Boucenna (Valencia sweep), Deflandre (Brands Hatch 1 and Hockenheim 2), and PK Carsport's Guillaume Dumarey (Franciacorta 2 and Zolder 2) scored two race wins, while Brazilian Felipe Rabello (Franciacorta 1) scored one race win.


2018 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, Season report
In the team's championship, with both of their drivers being in the championship hunt for the entirety of the season, RDV Compétition's #3 team comfortably won team's title, finishing 107 points clear of Knauf Racing's #37 team. New teams Memphis Racing and Go Fas Racing scored an impressive third and fourth-place finish, while Knauf Racing's #73 team completes the top five in the team's championship.


2018 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, Season report
In the manufacturer's championship, Toyota claimed their first Euro Series manufacturers title, becoming the first manufacturer to successfully topple Chevrolet from the top spot. Toyota's championship hopes were helped by the decision made by Alon Day's team CAAL Racing to switch manufacturers from Chevrolet to Toyota mid-season, giving Toyota the crucial edge they need to secure the manufacturer's title.


2018 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, Season report
Notably, this season saw a noticeable increase in attention from the other side of the Atlantic. Both former Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Bobby Labonte and current Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series team Go Fas Racing made their Euro Series debuts in 2018. Labonte, in his first season as a full-time driver since 2011, scored a second-place finish at the second race in Tours (the only oval race meet in the schedule) and would finish 14th in the standings with 1 Top 5 and 3 Top 10 finishes.


2018 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, Season report
Go Fas impressed in their debut season, finishing fourth in the team's championship with their Elite 2 driver Florian Venturi being in the championship hunt for much of the season. Truck Series regular Jennifer Jo Cobb also made an appearance at Valencia, driving for Racing Total in the Elite 2 class, a decision that ultimately allowed Racing Total driver Justin Kunz to make a Truck Series start for Jo Cobb's Truck team in Mosport.


2018 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, Season report
Pinty's Series driver Jean-François Dumoulin and K&N East driver Dale Quarterley made an appearance at Zolder as part of a driver exchange program that the Euro Series ran in conjunction with Pinty's Series and K&N East. Former B. J. McLeod Motorsports driver Stephen Young also made an appearance this season, driving for Racing Total's #10 entry at Tours in the Elite 2 class.


2018 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, Standings
Points are awarded to drivers and team using the current point system used in Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, excluding the Stage and Race Winner bonus points. For the final two races in Hockenheim and Zolder, double points are awarded. In addition, the driver that gained the most positions in a race will receive bonus championship points.


2018 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, Standings, Elite 1
(key) Bold - Pole position awarded by fastest qualifying time (in Race 1) or by previous race's fastest lap (in Race 2) or by setting the fastest lap time on the semi-final heat races (Tours only). Italics - Fastest lap. * – Most laps led. ^ – Most positions gained.


2018 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, Standings, Elite 2
(key) Bold - Pole position awarded by fastest qualifying time (in Race 1) or by previous race's fastest lap (in Race 2) or by setting the fastest lap time on the semi-final heat races (Tours only). Italics - Fastest lap. * – Most laps led. ^ – Most positions gained.


2018 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour
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2018 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour
The 2018 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour was the thirty-fourth season of the Whelen Modified Tour (WMT), a stock car racing tour sanctioned by NASCAR. It began with the Performance Plus 150 presented by Safety-Kleen at Myrtle Beach Speedway on 17 March and concluded with the Sunoco World Series 150 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park on 14 October. Doug Coby entered the season as the defending Drivers' champion. 2018 marked the second season of the unification of the Whelen (Northern) Modified Tour and the Whelen Southern Modified Tour. Justin Bonsignore won the championship, 97 points ahead of Chase Dowling.


2018 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, Schedule
On 22 November 2017, NASCAR announced the 2018 schedule. Charlotte was dropped from the schedule. The All-Star Shootout did not count towards the championship. The Icebreaker 150, the Thompson 125 and the Musket 250 were broadcast live on FansChoice.tv. Eleven of the seventeen races in the season were televised on NBCSN on a tape delay basis.


2018 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, Results and standings, Drivers' championship
(key) Bold – Pole position awarded by time. Italics – Pole position set by final practice results or Owners' points. * – Most laps led.


2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series
The 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series was the 37th season of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, a stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. William Byron won the 2017 championship with JR Motorsports, but moved up to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Tyler Reddick, who replaced Byron in the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro SS, won the drivers' championship. Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste won the owners' championship.


2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series
This was the third year that the Xfinity Series (and the Truck Series) had a playoff system. For the first time in the three years of the playoffs at that time, Elliott Sadler and Justin Allgaier were not part of the "championship 4" drivers competing for the title at Homestead. Both drivers did qualify for the postseason but did not advance to the last round of the playoffs as they had done the past two years.


2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series
The 2018 season was the first to feature the Regular Season Championship trophy, which is awarded at the final race before the playoffs. Justin Allgaier clinched the NXS Regular Season Championship trophy after the 2018 DC Solar 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.


2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series
This was the final season of the Toyota Camry in the Xfinity Series, as it was replaced by the Supra in the 2019 season. It was also the final season of Dodge as a manufacturer, as the new flange-fit composite body rules have made the former Team Penske Challengers (nicknamed "Zombie Dodges" due to their lack of factory support since 2013) used by smaller teams ineligible due to their welded steel bodies.


2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series, Schedule
The final schedule – comprising 33 races – was released on May 23, 2017. Key changes from 2017 include:


2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series, Schedule, Schedule changes
In 2015, NASCAR and 24 Xfinity Series tracks agreed on a five-year contract that guarantees each track would continue to host races through 2020. Despite the agreement, Speedway Motorsports decided to transfer one of its Xfinity Series races at Kentucky Speedway to Las Vegas Motor Speedway to form a race weekend involving each of the three national series in the fall.


2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series, Schedule, Schedule changes
With the official release of the schedule, NASCAR announced that the race Las Vegas Motor Speedway acquired from Kentucky Speedway will become the final race before the Xfinity Series playoffs, while the Go Bowling 250 at Richmond Raceway will be held as the first race of the playoffs. Furthermore, the Lilly Diabetes 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway will move from July to September. Chicagoland Speedway's race, the Overton's 300, will move from September to June to become the 15th race of the season instead of the 26th.


2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series, Schedule, Schedule changes
A few other minor schedule changes were also announced with the release of the schedule. Unlike the 2017 season, the OneMain Financial 200 at Dover International Speedway will precede the Alsco 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, while the Bar Harbor 200, also at Dover International Speedway, will move one week later to follow the Drive for the Cure 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The Drive for the Cure 200 will also utilize Charlotte Motor Speedway's 2.28-mile (3.67 km) road course instead of its oval. Road America will also move back to a Saturday afternoon.


2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series, Schedule, Schedule changes
On August 25, NASCAR announced the tracks that will compose the Dash 4 Cash incentive program: The four Dash 4 Cash races will be run consecutively on the overall series schedule, starting at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 14. From there, the bonus program rolls on to Richmond Raceway (April 20) and Talladega (April 28) before concluding at Dover International Speedway on May 5. Drivers eligible for driver championship points in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series are ineligible to participate in either Dash 4 Cash, the second Las Vegas race, or the playoff races. Drivers such as Elliott Sadler (13 years) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (18 years), who are expected to register as Xfinity drivers, will be eligible since they are registering as Xfinity drivers.


2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series, Results and standings, Drivers' Championship
(key) Bold – Pole position awarded by time. Italics – Pole position set by final practice results or owner's points. * – Most laps led. 1 – Stage 1 winner. 2 – Stage 2 winner. 1–10 – Regular season top 10 finishers. . – Eliminated after Round of 12. – Eliminated after Round of 8


2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series, Results and standings, Owners' championship (Top 15)
(key) Bold - Pole position awarded by time. Italics - Pole position set by final practice results or rainout. * – Most laps led. 1 – Stage 1 winner. 2 – Stage 2 winner. 1–10 – Owners' regular season top 10 finishers. . – Eliminated after Round of 12. – Eliminated after Round of 8


2018 NATC Motorcycle Trials Season
The 2018 NATC trials season was the 45th season. It consisted of ten trials events in three main classes: Pro, Expert and Womens Pro. It began on 21 April, with round one in New Mexico and ended with round ten in California on 2 September.


2018 NATC Motorcycle Trials Season, Season summary
Patrick Smage would claim his tenth NATC Trials Championship in 2018.


2018 NATC Motorcycle Trials Season, Season summary
Josh Roper would claim his first NATC Trials Championship Expert class title in 2018.


2018 NATC Motorcycle Trials Season, 2018 NATC trials season calendar, Scoring system
Points were awarded to the top twenty finishers in each class. All ten rounds counted for the Pro class, and the best of nine in Expert and Women's Pro classes were counted.


2018 NBA 2K League season
The 2018 NBA 2K League season was the inaugural season of the NBA 2K League, an esports league based on the basketball video game series NBA 2K. The season opened with the Tip-Off Tournament, which ran from May 1–5, 2018, where 76ers GC defeated Blazer5 Gaming. The season culminated on August 25, 2018, when Knicks Gaming defeated Heat Check Gaming in a best-of-three finals to become the first playoff champions in league history. Other tournaments included The Turn (where Blazer5 Gaming defeated Celtics Crossover Gaming) and The Ticket (where Knicks Gaming defeated Celtics Crossover Gaming).


2018 NBA 2K League season, Qualifying
For the inaugural season, the qualifying stage was open to anyone who was 18+ years old and owned NBA 2K18 on either PlayStation 4 or Xbox One. To qualify, players had to win 50 games in NBA 2K18's Pro-Am mode and submit an application following this requirement between January 1–31, 2018. Following that, the players who qualified participated in a combine that ran from February 2–21, 2018. The top 102 players out of the 72,000 who qualified were then drafted on April 4.


2018 NBA 2K League season, Teams
On December 11, 2017, the official logo for the NBA 2K League was revealed, with the logos for each of the 17 teams being revealed over the course of the following days.


2018 NBA 2K League season, Inaugural draft
On April 4, 2018, the inaugural draft took place and was broadcast on NBA TV (first round only) and Twitch. The draft used a snake draft format with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announcing the first pick,  NBA 2K League managing director Brendan Donohue announcing the rest of the picks. The draft took place in the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden. For the first five rounds, each team was required to choose one player at each position, and in the sixth round team were allowed to choose any remaining player, regardless of their position.


2018 NBA 2K League season, Inaugural draft, Draft lottery
A non-weighted lottery took place on March 13, 2018 to determine the order of the draft.


2018 NBA All-Star Game
The 2018 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game that was played on February 18, 2018, during the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2017–18 season. It was the 67th edition of the NBA All-Star Game, and was played at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, home of the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers. Team LeBron defeated Team Stephen, 148–145. LeBron James, namesake of Team LeBron, was named the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player for recording 29 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists; it was his third time winning the award since the 2008 All-Star Game. This was the sixth time that Los Angeles had hosted the NBA All-Star Game and the first time since 2011. The game was televised nationally by TNT for the 16th consecutive year.


2018 NBA All-Star Game, Format change
On October 3, 2017, the NBA announced that the All-Star Game format would change from the traditional Eastern Conference versus Western Conference format, and would instead switch to a draft-style format, similar to the format used by the NHL All-Star Game from 2011 through 2015 and the NFL Pro Bowl from 2014 through 2016. The team captains were determined by the most votes received in their respective conference. Each team will pick a charity to play for, and the winning team will have money donated to their charity. The winning team will receive $100,000 for each player and the losing team $25,000 each.


2018 NBA All-Star Game, All-Star Game, Coaches
The two teams were coached from their respective conference. Mike D'Antoni, coach of the Houston Rockets, was named as the head coach for Team Stephen. Dwane Casey, coach of the Toronto Raptors, was named as the head coach for Team LeBron.


2018 NBA All-Star Game, All-Star Game, Rosters
The rosters for the All-Star Game were selected through a voting process. The starters were chosen by the fans, media, and current NBA players. Fans make up 50% of the vote, and NBA players and media each comprise 25% of the vote. The two guards and three frontcourt players who receive the highest cumulative vote totals are named the All-Star starters. NBA head coaches vote for the reserves for their respective conferences, none of which can be players on their own team.


2018 NBA All-Star Game, All-Star Game, Rosters
Each coach selects two guards, three frontcourt players and two wild cards, with each selected player ranked in order of preference within each category. If a multi-position player is to be selected, coaches are encouraged to vote for the player at the position that was "most advantageous for the All-Star team", regardless of where the player was listed on the All-Star ballot or the position he was listed in box scores.


2018 NBA All-Star Game, All-Star Game, Rosters
The All-Star Game starters were announced on January 18, 2018. Kyrie Irving of the Boston Celtics and DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors were named the backcourt starters in the East, earning their fifth and fourth all-star appearances, respectively. LeBron James was named a starter to his 14th career all-star game, breaking Dirk Nowitzki's record for most selections among active players. Joining James in the East frontcourt was Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers, his first selection, and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, his second selection.


2018 NBA All-Star Game, All-Star Game, Rosters
Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors and James Harden of the Houston Rockets were named to the starting backcourt in the West, earning their fifth and sixth all-star appearances, respectively. In the frontcourt, Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors was named to his ninth career all-star game, along with DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans, their fourth and fifth all-star selections, respectively. During the All-Star Game, Davis would wear his teammate Cousins' jersey as a means of honoring him after his season-ending injury occurred before the All-Star Game began.


2018 NBA All-Star Game, All-Star Game, Rosters
The All-Star Game reserves were announced on January 23, 2018. The West reserves include Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder, his seventh selection, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors, their fourth and third all-star selections, respectively, LaMarcus Aldridge of the San Antonio Spurs, his sixth selection, Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers, his third selection, and Karl-Anthony Towns and Jimmy Butler of the Minnesota Timberwolves, their first and fourth all-star selections, respectively. Westbrook would later be named the replacement starter for DeMarcus Cousins' open starting spot on the team.


2018 NBA All-Star Game, All-Star Game, Rosters
The East reserves include Kyle Lowry of the Toronto Raptors, his fourth selection, Al Horford of the Boston Celtics, his fifth selection, John Wall and Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards, their fifth and first all-star selections, respectively, Victor Oladipo of the Indiana Pacers, his first selection, Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers, his fifth selection, and Kristaps Porzingis of the New York Knicks, his first selection.


2018 NBA All-Star Game, All-Star Game, Draft
LeBron James and Stephen Curry were named as captains due to being the leading vote getter from the East and West, respectively. James had the first pick in the draft as the leading vote getter overall, while Curry has first choice of jersey color, due to the Western Conference having home team status for the game. The draft pool consisted of the eight other starters, with no regard to conference designation, and 14 reserves (seven from each conference), chosen by NBA head coaches.


2018 NBA All-Star Game, All-Star Game, Draft
On January 25, 2018, LeBron James and Stephen Curry created their rosters via a draft, which would not be televised for various reasons. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will select the replacement for any player unable to participate in the All-Star Game, choosing a player from the same conference as the player who is being replaced. Silver's selection would join the team that drafted the replaced player. If a replaced player is a starter, the head coach of that team will choose a new starter from his cast of players instead.


2018 NBA All-Star Game, All-Star Game, Draft
DeMarcus Cousins was unable to play due to a season-ending Achilles injury. Paul George was selected as DeMarcus Cousins' replacement. John Wall was unable to participate due to a knee injury. Andre Drummond was selected as John Wall's replacement. Kevin Love was unable to participate due to a hand injury. Goran Dragić was selected as Kevin Love's replacement. Kristaps Porziņģis was unable to participate due to a season ending torn ACL. Kemba Walker was named as Kristaps Porziņģis' replacement. Russell Westbrook was selected to start in place of Cousins.


2018 NBA All-Star Game, All-Star Game, National anthem
Fergie's performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" prior to the game received heavy negative criticism and mockery online. The rendition—described as "unusual" and "bizarre"—was met with laughter from the arena crowd, and  All-Star Draymond Green was shown chuckling on the television broadcast. The following day, Fergie said she "wanted to try something special for the NBA," but it "didn't strike the intended tone."


2018 NBA All-Star Game, All-Star Weekend, Celebrity Game
The 2018 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game presented by Ruffles was played on Friday, February 16, 2018 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Since the All-Star Weekend was held in Los Angeles, the competition was represented by the two NBA teams in the city with the Los Angeles Lakers (Team Lakers) and the Los Angeles Clippers (Team Clippers) instead of the typical West Vs. East affair like in previous years.


2018 NBA All-Star Game, All-Star Weekend, Mountain Dew KickStart Rising Stars Challenge
Malcolm Brogdon was unable to participate due to a leg injury. Taurean Prince was selected as Malcolm Brogdon's replacement. Lonzo Ball was unable to participate due to a knee injury. De'Aaron Fox was selected as Lonzo Ball's replacement.


2018 NBA All-Star Game, All-Star Weekend, Skills Challenge
Donovan Mitchell was removed due to replacing Aaron Gordon in the Slam Dunk Contest. Buddy Hield was named as Donovan Mitchell's replacement. Kristaps Porziņģis unable to participate due to a torn ACL. Andre Drummond was named as Kristaps Porziņģis' replacement.


2018 NBA All-Star Game, All-Star Weekend, Slam Dunk Contest
Aaron Gordon was unable to participate due to a hip injury. Donovan Mitchell was named as Aaron Gordon's replacement.


2018 NBA Awards
The 2018 NBA Awards were the 2nd annual awards show by the National Basketball Association (NBA), held on June 25, 2018 at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California and hosted by Anthony Anderson. James Harden of the Houston Rockets was awarded the NBA Most Valuable Player Award.


2018 NBA Awards
During the ceremony, it was revealed during EJ's Neat-O Stat of the Night that the cover athlete of NBA Live 19 will be Joel Embiid.


2018 NBA Awards, Winners and finalists
The full list of finalists were announced on May 16, 2018 during the TNT NBA Tip-Off pre-game show and posted to Twitter.


2018 NBA Awards, Fan Awards
Fan Awards nominees and categories were announced on the league's official website on April 18, 2018.


2018 NBA Finals
The 2018 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2017–18 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven playoff, the defending NBA champion and Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors swept the defending Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers four games to zero. The Warriors became the 7th NBA franchise to win back-to-back championships joining the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets, and Miami Heat.


2018 NBA Finals
This year's Finals was the first time in any of North America's four major professional sports leagues that the same two teams met for the championship four years in a row. This was also the first time that a team was swept in the NBA Finals since 2007, in which the Cavaliers were also the losing team. LeBron James, in his eighth consecutive NBA Finals appearance and ninth appearance overall, suffered the second Finals sweep of his career, having also played in the 2007 Finals. Warriors small forward Kevin Durant was named NBA Finals MVP for the second straight year.


2018 NBA Finals
The Warriors entered the series having home-court advantage with a  regular season record of 58–24, compared to the Cavaliers' regular season record of 50–32. Entering the matchup, the Warriors were also noted by various sports media outlets as one of the biggest NBA Finals favorites in recent history. The 2018 Finals began on May 31 and ended on June 8. The series broke the record set by the 2014 NBA Finals for highest average scoring differential per game (15.0) for an NBA Finals series.


2018 NBA Finals, Background, Cleveland Cavaliers
This was the Cleveland Cavaliers' fourth consecutive trip to the NBA Finals, and fifth appearance overall. This was also the eighth consecutive NBA Finals appearance for Cavaliers small forward LeBron James.


2018 NBA Finals, Background, Cleveland Cavaliers
Prior to the 2017–18 season, All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving requested to be traded away from the Cavaliers. Although James was against the idea of trading him away, the Cavaliers agreed to Irving's request, trading him to the Boston Celtics in exchange for point guard Isaiah Thomas, small forward Jae Crowder, center Ante Žižić, the first round pick from the Brooklyn Nets in the 2018 NBA Draft and the Miami Heat's 2020 second round pick. Miami's second round pick was added as compensation after Isaiah Thomas failed his physical. Other major changes included shooting guard Dwyane Wade signing with the Cavaliers, thus reuniting with James from their time together on the Big Three-era Miami Heat, and the signing of point guard Derrick Rose to a one-year contract.


2018 NBA Finals, Background, Cleveland Cavaliers
On February 8, 2018 – just before the NBA trade deadline – the Cavaliers radically changed their roster in a little more than an hour, acquiring George Hill, Rodney Hood, Jordan Clarkson, and Larry Nance Jr. in exchange for Thomas, Rose, Crowder, Wade, Channing Frye, Iman Shumpert, and their own 2018 first-round pick. Multiple writers argued at the time that the trades made the Cavaliers significantly better.


2018 NBA Finals, Background, Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavaliers finished the regular season with a 50–32 record, securing the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference. In the playoffs, the Cavaliers defeated the Indiana Pacers in seven games in the first round, swept the top-seeded Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference semifinals, and defeated the Boston Celtics in seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals.


2018 NBA Finals, Background, Golden State Warriors
This was the Golden State Warriors' fourth consecutive trip to the NBA Finals. During the 2017–18 offseason, the Warriors re-signed their core players, including point guard Stephen Curry to a five-year contract worth $201 million, and Kevin Durant to a two-year, $53 million contract. Golden State also re-signed Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, Zaza Pachulia, and David West. A major free agent acquired during the offseason was guard Nick Young.


2018 NBA Finals, Background, Golden State Warriors
The Warriors finished the 2017–18 regular season with a 58–24 record, winning the Pacific Division and securing the 2nd seed in the Western Conference. In the playoffs, Golden State defeated the San Antonio Spurs in five games in the first round, eliminated the New Orleans Pelicans in five games in the Western Conference semifinals, and defeated the 65-win Houston Rockets in seven games in the Western Conference Finals.


2018 NBA Finals, Background, Golden State Warriors
The Warriors entered the series as heavy favorites, aiming to repeat back-to-back titles after losing their quest in 2016.


2018 NBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 1
Klay Thompson of the Warriors suffered a leg injury in the first quarter, but returned to the game in the second quarter. With the score tied at 107 in the last five seconds of regulation, J. R. Smith of the Cavaliers collected an offensive rebound following a missed free throw, but dribbled the ball towards half court rather than taking a final shot. Tyronn Lue, Cleveland's coach, later said that Smith thought the Cavaliers were ahead, though Smith denied not knowing the correct score, and claimed he assumed his team would take a time-out. Cleveland was not able to score in the final seconds and the game went to overtime. In overtime, the Warriors outscored the Cavaliers 17–7 to win the game. Tristan Thompson was ejected following a flagrant foul with 2.6 seconds remaining in overtime.


2018 NBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 1
Cleveland's LeBron James scored 51 points in Game 1, the sixth-highest point total for an NBA Finals game and the most in a loss. After Game 1, James punched a whiteboard in the Cavaliers' locker room due to frustration of his team's level of play, suffering a bone contusion in his hand that he kept private for the remainder of the series.


2018 NBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 2
The Warriors employed more double teams against James in Game 2, limiting him to 29 points. Cleveland had a 41% field goal percentage, including 9-for-27 (33.3%) on three-point field goals. Meanwhile, Golden State's Stephen Curry set an NBA Finals record in Game 2 with nine three-point field goals. He scored 33 points, while the Warriors got 26 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists from Kevin Durant, and 20 points from Klay Thompson. Smith struggled for Cleveland, shooting 2-for-9 (22.2%) with both baskets coming in the first quarter. The Warriors won 122–103 over the Cavaliers.


2018 NBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 3
Andre Iguodala of the Warriors, who missed the previous six games, including the first two games of the NBA Finals, due to a left leg injury, returned in Game 3. He injured his right leg early in the game, not returning until after halftime. The Cavaliers started the game with a 14–4 advantage and led for the entire first half, at one point leading by 13. The Warriors trimmed Cleveland's lead to six by halftime. The Cavaliers enjoyed strong contributions from Rodney Hood, who scored 15 points, Smith, who scored 13 points, and Kevin Love, who had 20 points and 13 rebounds.


2018 NBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 3
Durant scored a playoff career-high 43 points, while also contributing 13 rebounds and seven assists, in a 110–102 win over the Cavaliers, helping the Warriors take a 3–0 lead. Golden State withstood poor offensive performances from Curry and Klay Thompson, the Splash Brothers. Curry missed 13 out of his first 14 shot attempts in the game. The Cavaliers were 3-for-17 (17.6%) on three point shots in the second half, and Durant scored a three-pointer late in the game that ended Cleveland's chances of a comeback. With the 110–102 victory, the Warriors took a 3–0 series lead.


2018 NBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 4
The Warriors led the game nearly from start to finish. Golden State led 13–3 at the start of the game. Though the Cavaliers took the lead, 39–38, in the second quarter, the Warriors led 61–52 at halftime. The Warriors expanded their lead in the third quarter and entered the last period of play with an 86–65 advantage.


2018 NBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 4
With Golden State leading 102–77 with 4:03 remaining, James came out of the game, receiving a standing ovation. Curry scored 37 points and made seven three-pointers, while Durant recorded a triple-double with 20 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. The Warriors won 108–85 to sweep the series. Durant was named Finals MVP for the second straight year. He received seven of the 11 votes, with Curry receiving the other four.


2018 NBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 4
Game 4 was also James' last game as a Cavalier as he joined the Los Angeles Lakers during the offseason.


2018 NBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 4
The Warriors' victory parade took place on June 12 in Downtown Oakland.


2018 NBA Finals, Sponsorship
For the first time, the NBA sold a presenting sponsorship for the Finals to the internet television service YouTube TV. YouTube TV had previously been the presenting sponsor for the 2017 World Series, the first time that Major League Baseball's championship series had a title sponsor as well. As part of a multi-year partnership deal, YouTube TV also broadcast the NBA Finals.


2018 NBA Finals, Broadcast
In the United States, the NBA Finals aired on ABC with Mike Breen as play-by-play commentator, and Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson serving as color commentators. The series was sponsored by YouTube TV. ESPN Radio aired it as well and had Marc Kestecher and Hubie Brown as commentators. ESPN Deportes provided exclusive Spanish-language coverage of The Finals, with a commentary team of Álvaro Martín and Carlos Morales.


2018 NBA G League draft
The 2018 NBA G League draft was the 18th draft of the National Basketball Association G League. The draft was held on October 20, 2018, just before the 2018–19 season. Former G League All-Star Willie Reed was selected with the first overall pick by the Salt Lake City Stars.


2018 NBA G League draft
This was the second draft after the D League was changed to the G League after the NBA agreed to a partnership deal with Gatorade. This was also the second year that players could sign two-way contracts. This allows players to transition between an NBA team and its G-League affiliate.


2018 NBA Summer League
The 2018 NBA Summer League consisted of three pro basketball leagues organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA): the Sacramento Kings's California Classic Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas Summer League.


2018 NBA Summer League
The Sacramento Kings hosted their own summer league event called the California Classic at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. The event was scheduled to take place before the Las Vegas Summer League began, with the teams in place for the event involving the Kings, Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, and Miami Heat. Eight days later, the Kings confirmed that their own Summer League event (titled the California Classic Summer League) would take place July 2–5, 2018 (taking a day off to celebrate the Fourth of July), replacing the Orlando Pro Summer League. On May 14, 2018, the Kings confirmed that report.


2018 NBA Summer League
Four teams participated in the round-robin format of the Utah Jazz Summer League from July 2 to July 5, 2018. All four teams (Utah Jazz, Atlanta Hawks, Memphis Grizzlies, and San Antonio Spurs) also participated in the Las Vegas Summer League.


2018 NBA Summer League
The 2018 Las Vegas NBA Summer League was the official 2018 summer league of the National Basketball Association. The league was held at the Thomas and Mack Center and Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada, on the campus of University of Nevada, Las Vegas. It began on July 6 and ended on July 17. For the first time in league history, all 30 teams participated. With every team participating, the event expanded to 82 games in 12 days. Teams competed in a tournament-style schedule in three preliminary games before seeding in a tournament; each team played at least five games and as many as eight games. The event concluded with the 2018 NBA Summer League Championship game on July 17.


2018 NBA Summer League, California Classic
In its first year, the California Classic is scheduled to take place before the Las Vegas Summer League begins, with the teams in place for the event involving the Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, and Miami Heat. During the month of May, the Kings confirmed that their own Summer League event (titled the California Classic Summer League) would take place from July 2–5, 2018 (taking a day off to celebrate the Fourth of July), replacing the Orlando Pro Summer League.


2018 NBA Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League
Now in its fourth year, the Utah Jazz Summer League will feature six games and host four teams: the Utah Jazz, Atlanta Hawks, Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs. Each team will play on July 2, 3 and 5. All games will be played at Vivint Smart Home Arena.


2018 NBA Summer League, Las Vegas NBA Summer League
The Las Vegas NBA Summer League is the official summer league of the NBA. It is the premier summer league of the three, and it is the first year all 30 teams will be participating in. 82 games were played from July 6 to 17, 2018, across two venues, the Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion, both located in Paradise, Nevada (near Las Vegas). The Las Vegas NBA Summer League championship featured a rematch of the previous year's teams, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Portland Trail Blazers.


2018 NBA Summer League, Las Vegas NBA Summer League, Championship
The championship is determined by a single-elimination tournament; the top 2 teams receive a first-round bye.


2018 NBA Summer League, Las Vegas NBA Summer League, Championship
Teams are seeded first by overall record, then by a tiebreaker system. Coin toss is used if the tiebreakers below fail.


2018 NBA Summer League, Las Vegas NBA Summer League, Championship
First-round losers will play consolation games to determine 17th through 30th places based on the tiebreaker system stated above. Second-round losers will play consolation games to determine 9th through 16th places.


2018 NBA draft
The 2018 NBA Draft was held on June 21, 2018, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. It was televised nationally by ESPN. State Farm was the presenting sponsor of the NBA draft for the seventh consecutive year.


2018 NBA draft
This draft was the last to use the original weighted lottery system that gave teams near the bottom of the NBA draft better odds at the top three picks of the draft while teams higher up had worse odds in the process; the rule was agreed upon by the NBA on September 28, 2017, but would not be implemented until the 2019 draft.


2018 NBA draft
It was also considered the final year where undrafted college underclassmen were forced to begin their professional careers early; on August 8, 2018, the NCAA announced that players who declared for the NBA draft and were not selected would have the opportunity to return to their school for at least another year.


2018 NBA draft
With the last year of what was, at the time, the most recent lottery system (with the NBA draft lottery being held in Chicago instead of in New York), the Phoenix Suns won the first overall pick on May 15, 2018, with the Sacramento Kings at the second overall pick and the Atlanta Hawks at third overall pick. The Suns' selection was their first No. 1 overall selection in franchise history. They used the selection on the Bahamian center Deandre Ayton from the nearby University of Arizona.


2018 NBA draft
This draft was also notable for its lack of draft-day trades involving NBA veterans. An average of more than five veterans per year were traded on the day of the last three drafts, but this draft was the first since 2003 in which no such trades were announced. At the end of the 2018–19 season the top 5 picks from the draft were picked as the All-Rookie 1st Team, the first time this had happened since the 1984 draft.


2018 NBA draft, Notable undrafted players
These players were not selected in the 2018 NBA draft, but have played at least one game in the NBA.


2018 NBA draft, Combine
The invitation-only NBA Draft Combine was held in Chicago from May 16 to 20. The on-court element of the combine took place on May 18 and 19. A total of 69 players were invited for the NBA Draft Combine, with two top talents in Deandre Ayton and Luka Dončić declining invitations for the event this year, with the latter player being involved with the 2018 EuroLeague Final Four at the time.


2018 NBA draft, Combine
Both mystery man Mitchell Robinson and Chandler Hutchison would remove themselves from the event at the last minute, although two other players would enter the event instead of them, leaving the proper number of official participants at 69. At the end of the draft deadline for international players, 12 players that entered the NBA Draft Combine that year ultimately withdrew from the NBA Draft, with 11 players returning to college and Brian Bowen planning on playing professionally before trying another NBA Draft instead.


2018 NBA draft, Draft lottery
The NBA draft lottery took place during the playoffs on May 15, 2018. This year will be the last time it uses what was originally the updated system for the NBA draft lottery to upgrade draft odds for teams in the lower regions of the NBA.


2018 NBA draft, Draft lottery
Starting in 2019 onward, the newer updated draft lottery will give the bottom 3 teams equal odds for the No. 1 pick, while some of the teams higher up the NBA draft would get an increased chance for a top-four pick instead of a top-three pick like in this year, thus hoping to discourage teams from potentially losing games on purpose for higher draft picks (and potentially better talent in the process).


2018 NBA draft, Draft lottery
There were also two tiebreakers involved for lottery odds this season; the first involved the Dallas Mavericks having one more result favoring them having the No. 1 pick over the Atlanta Hawks after splitting the odds together, while the second tiebreaker had the Chicago Bulls splitting odds with the Sacramento Kings, resulting in the Bulls having slightly better odds on their end in the process. Funnily enough, both of the teams mentioned that lost the tiebreakers would wind up being in the Top 3 at the end of the NBA draft lottery. Furthermore, the Hawks would trade their Top 3 selection to Dallas for their selection in the draft instead.


2018 NBA draft, Draft lottery
^ 1: The Brooklyn Nets' pick was automatically conveyed to the Cleveland Cavaliers this year. ^ 2: The Los Angeles Lakers' pick was conveyed to the Philadelphia 76ers since the pick turned unprotected for them this year and wasn't in the Nos. 2-5 range. ^ 3: The Detroit Pistons' pick was conveyed to the Los Angeles Clippers since it was outside the top 4.


2018 NBA draft, Eligibility and entrants
The draft is conducted under the eligibility rules established in the league's 2017 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with its player's union. The previous CBA that ended the 2011 lockout instituted no immediate changes to the draft, but called for a committee of owners and players to discuss future changes.


2018 NBA draft, Eligibility and entrants
The NBA has since expanded the draft combine to include players with remaining college eligibility (who, like players without college eligibility, can only attend by invitation).


2018 NBA draft, Eligibility and entrants, Early entrants
Players who are not automatically eligible have to declare their eligibility for the draft by notifying the NBA offices in writing no later than 60 days before the draft. For the 2018 draft, the date fell on April 22. After that date, "early entry" players are able to attend NBA pre-draft camps and individual team workouts to show off their skills and obtain feedback regarding their draft positions. Under the CBA a player may withdraw his name from consideration from the draft at any time before the final declaration date, which is 10 days before the draft. Under current NCAA rules, players had until May 30 (10 days after the draft combine) to withdraw from the draft and retain college eligibility.


2018 NBA draft, Eligibility and entrants, Early entrants
A player who has hired an agent forfeits his remaining college eligibility regardless of whether he is drafted.


2018 NBA draft, Eligibility and entrants, Early entrants, College underclassmen
A record-high 236 underclassed draft prospects (i.e., players with remaining college eligibility) had declared by the April 22 deadline, with 181 of these players being from college. The names listed here mean that they hired an agent, or had announced that they planned to do so before the night of the draft. At the end of the deadline, 77 players declared their intentions to enter the draft with an agent (with one player announcing his entry after the deadline) while 100 players announced their return to college for at least one more season. Meanwhile, Matur Maker, Brian Bowen, Micah Seaborn and Tavarius Shine did not enter the draft after letting their deadlines to retain college eligibility expire. These players instead decided to enter in 2019 via either the NBA G League or another professional league.


2018 NBA draft, Eligibility and entrants, Early entrants, International players
International players that had declared this year and did not previously declare in another prior year can drop out of the draft about 10 days before the draft begins on June 11. Initially, there were 55 players who originally expressed interest in entering the 2018 draft, one of which was a player who came directly out of high school from Canada.


2018 NBA draft, Eligibility and entrants, Early entrants, International players
However, by the end of the deadline, 43 of those players (including the aforementioned Canadian high schooler) would ultimately pull their names out of the draft, leaving only 11 true international players entering the NBA Draft this year (the NBA link mentions LiAngelo Ball as an international player in the loosest sense of the word, but not Billy Preston there). Combining both the number of players listed previously and both LiAngelo Ball and Billy Preston as automatically eligible underclassmen under unique situations, the total number of underclassmen rounds out to 90 overall players.


2018 NBA draft, Eligibility and entrants, Automatically eligible entrants
Players who do not meet the criteria for "international" players are automatically eligible if they meet any of the following criteria:


2018 NBA draft, Eligibility and entrants, Automatically eligible entrants
Players who meet the criteria for "international" players are automatically eligible if they meet any of the following criteria:


2018 NBA draft, Trades involving draft picks, Pre-draft trades
Prior to the day of the draft, the following trades were made and resulted in exchanges of draft picks between the teams below.


2018 NBA draft, Trades involving draft picks, Draft-day trades
Draft-day trades occurred on June 21, 2018, the day of the draft.


2018 NBA draft, Invited attendees
The NBA annually invites around 15–20 players to sit in the so-called "green room", a special room set aside at the draft site for the invited players plus their families and agents. When their names are called, the player leaves the room and goes up on stage. Other players who are not invited are allowed to attend the ceremony. They sit in the stands with the fans and walk up on stage when (or if) they are drafted.


2018 NBA draft, Invited attendees
On June 15, 2018, 19 total players were announced as invites for the NBA Draft that year (all of whom coming out of college this year), while potential top 3 pick Luka Dončić was initially not invited to the event due to the Liga ACB Finals potentially extending through the draft. On June 19, ESPN reported that Dončić would attend the draft after all, following Real Madrid's championship victory the previous night, extending the list to 20 players. The following players (listed alphabetically) were confirmed as invites for the event this year:


2018 NBA playoffs
The 2018 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2017–18 season. The playoffs began on April 14, 2018 and ended on June 8 at the conclusion of the 2018 NBA Finals.


2018 NBA playoffs, Format
Within each conference, the eight teams with the most wins qualify for the playoffs. The seedings are based on each team's record.


2018 NBA playoffs, Format
Each conference's bracket is fixed; there is no reseeding. All rounds are best-of-seven series; the team that has four wins advances to the next round. All rounds, including the NBA Finals, are in a 2–2–1–1–1 format. Home court advantage in any round does not necessarily belong to the higher-seeded team, but instead to the team with the better regular season record. If two teams with the same record meet in a round, standard tiebreaker rules are used. The rule for determining home court advantage in the NBA Finals is winning percentage, then head to head record, followed by intra-conference record.


2018 NBA playoffs, Playoff qualifying
On March 7, 2018, the Toronto Raptors became the first team to clinch a playoff spot. On March 30, 2018, the Houston Rockets clinched the Western Conference ending a three-year run by the Golden State Warriors as the top seed. The Rockets clinched the best record in the NBA a day later on March 31, 2018. For the first time since the 1996–97 NBA season, two teams played their last game against each other for the 8th and final spot in the playoffs.


2018 NBA playoffs, Playoff qualifying
The Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Denver Nuggets 112–106 in overtime to clinch the final playoff seed in the West. This also ended Minnesota's 13-year drought without a playoff appearance having last played in 2003–04 season. For the first time since the 2010–11 NBA season, the Los Angeles Clippers would miss the postseason following a loss to the Denver Nuggets on April 7, 2018. This is the first time since 1960 that none of the teams from New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago made the playoffs.


2018 NBA playoffs, Bracket
Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in its conference, and the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions are marked by an asterisk. Teams with home court advantage, the higher seeded team, are shown in italics.


2018 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (1) Toronto Raptors vs. (8) Washington Wizards
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Wizards winning the first meeting in 2015.


2018 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (2) Boston Celtics vs. (7) Milwaukee Bucks
This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning four of the first five meetings.


2018 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (3) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (6) Miami Heat
With the win, the Sixers won their first playoff series since 2012.


2018 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (3) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (6) Miami Heat
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Heat winning the first meeting.


2018 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (4) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (5) Indiana Pacers
LeBron James capped off his heroic Game 5 performance with a game-winning 3 at the buzzer to put the Cavaliers up 3–2 in the series. This was the fourth time James has hit a game-winning buzzer beater in the playoffs.


2018 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (4) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (5) Indiana Pacers
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with each team winning one series.


2018 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (1) Houston Rockets vs. (8) Minnesota Timberwolves
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Rockets winning the first meeting.


2018 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (2) Golden State Warriors vs. (7) San Antonio Spurs
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Warriors winning two of the first three meetings.


2018 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (3) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (6) New Orleans Pelicans
The Pelicans completed a sweep of the Trail Blazers for their 1st series win in the playoffs since the 2008 NBA Playoffs against the Dallas Mavericks as the New Orleans Hornets.


2018 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (3) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (6) New Orleans Pelicans
This was the first playoff meeting between the Trail Blazers and Pelicans.


2018 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (4) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (5) Utah Jazz
The Thunder trailed by as much as 25 points in the 3rd quarter. However, Russell Westbrook and Paul George combined for 47 second-half points to help keep their season alive. The Thunder outscored the Jazz 61-28 since the comeback started with 8:32 left in the 3rd quarter. The 25-point rally was their largest in franchise history and one of the biggest comebacks for a team facing elimination in playoff history.


2018 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (4) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (5) Utah Jazz
This was the fifth playoff meeting between the SuperSonics/Thunder franchise and the Jazz, but the first since the Seattle SuperSonics relocated to Oklahoma City and became the Thunder in 2008. The two teams have split their previous four playoff matchups.


2018 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (1) Toronto Raptors vs. (4) Cleveland Cavaliers
LeBron James capped off a 38-point performance with a fadeaway bank shot floater at the buzzer to lead the Cavs to a commanding 3–0 series lead.


2018 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (1) Toronto Raptors vs. (4) Cleveland Cavaliers
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with Cleveland winning the first two meetings.


2018 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (2) Boston Celtics vs. (3) Philadelphia 76ers
This was the 21st playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning 12 of the first 20 meetings.


2018 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (1) Houston Rockets vs. (5) Utah Jazz
This was the eighth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Jazz winning five of the first seven meetings.


2018 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (2) Golden State Warriors vs. (6) New Orleans Pelicans
This was the second meeting in the playoffs between the two teams, with the Warriors winning the first meeting.


2018 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Eastern Conference Finals, (2) Boston Celtics vs. (4) Cleveland Cavaliers
It marked the first time since the 1987–88 season that the Celtics made two consecutive Conference Finals. It was also the Celtics' first home loss of the postseason. Their loss at home after leading 3–2 in the series was the first time that had happened since 2009. This was the fifth time in NBA history that the road team won a Game 7 after the home team had won each of the first six games. LeBron James became the first non-Celtic to advance to 8 consecutive NBA Finals. It was also the second time in the Celtics' history that they had lost a playoff series in which they had taken a 2–0 lead.


2018 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Eastern Conference Finals, (2) Boston Celtics vs. (4) Cleveland Cavaliers
This was the eighth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning four of the first seven meetings.


2018 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals, (1) Houston Rockets vs. (2) Golden State Warriors
Golden State rallied from a 17-point first quarter deficit by outscoring Houston 64–25 in the second half to force a Game 7. The Rockets' 25 second-half points tied a franchise record low for scoring in any half in the postseason.


2018 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals, (1) Houston Rockets vs. (2) Golden State Warriors
This is the Warriors' first game 7 road win since 1948 and first for the Western Conference team win game 7 on the road since the 2001–02 Los Angeles Lakers.


2018 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals, (1) Houston Rockets vs. (2) Golden State Warriors
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Warriors winning the first two meetings.


2018 NBA playoffs, 2018 NBA Finals: (E4) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (W2) Golden State Warriors
This was the fourth meeting in the NBA Finals between these two teams, with the Warriors winning two of the first three meetings.


2018 NBA playoffs, Media coverage, Television
ESPN, TNT, ABC, and NBA TV televised the playoffs nationally in the United States. In the first round, regional sports networks affiliated with the teams also broadcast the games, except for games televised on ABC. Throughout the first two rounds, TNT televised games Sunday through Thursday, ESPN televised games Thursday and Friday, and ABC televised selected games on Saturday and Sunday, usually in the afternoon. NBA TV has aired select weekday games in the first round. ESPN televised the Eastern Conference Finals, while the Western Conference Finals was televised by TNT. ABC had exclusive television rights to the 2018 NBA Finals, which was the 16th consecutive year for the network.


2018 NBL Finals
The 2018 NBL Finals were the championship series of the 2017–18 NBL season and the conclusion of the season. The semi-finals started on 3 March and ended 9 March 2018. The Grand Final series started on 16 March and ended on 31 March 2018. Melbourne United won its fifth NBL championship title.


2018 NBL Finals, Format
The 2017–18 National Basketball League Finals will be played in March 2018 between the top four teams of the regular season, consisting of two best-of-three semi-final and one best-of-five final series, where the higher seed hosts the first, third and fifth games.


2018 NBL Finals, Qualification, Seedings
The NBL tie-breaker system as outlined in the NBL Rules and Regulations states that in the case of an identical win-loss record, the overall points percentage will determine order of seeding.


2018 NBL Finals, Semi-finals series, (1) Melbourne United vs (4) New Zealand Breakers
Tied 2–2 in the regular season series; 351-346 points differential to New Zealand:


2018 NBL Finals, Semi-finals series, (2) Adelaide 36ers vs (3) Perth Wildcats
Tied 2–2 in the regular season series; 367-360 points differential to Perth:


2018 NC State Wolfpack baseball team
The 2018 NC State Wolfpack baseball team represented North Carolina State University during the 2018 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Wolfpack played their home games at Doak Field as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They were led by head coach Elliott Avent, his 22nd season at NC State. The Wolfpack finished the season 2nd in the ACC's Atlantic Division with a record of 42–18, 19–11 in conference play. They qualified for the 2018 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Tournament, and were eliminated in pool play. They were invited to host the Raleigh Regional in the 2018 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. They lost in the regional final to Auburn.


2018 NC State Wolfpack baseball team, Previous Season
In 2017, the Wolfpack finished the season 4th in the ACC's Atlantic Division with a record of 36–25, 16–14 in conference play. They qualified for the 2017 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Tournament, and were eliminated in pool play. They were invited to the 2017 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, where they participated in the Lexington Regional, where they lost in the regional final to host Kentucky.


2018 NC State Wolfpack baseball team, Ranking movements
^ Collegiate Baseball ranks 40 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season. † NCBWA ranks 35 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season. * New poll was not released for this week so for comparison purposes the previous week's ranking is inserted in this week's slot.


2018 NC State Wolfpack football team
The 2018 NC State Wolfpack football team represented North Carolina State University during the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Wolfpack played their home games at Carter–Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina and competed in the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They were led by sixth-year head coach Dave Doeren. They finished the season 9–4, 5–3 in ACC play to finish in third place in the Atlantic Division. They received a bid to the Gator Bowl where they were defeated by Texas A&M.


2018 NC State Wolfpack football team, Previous season
The Wolfpack finished the 2017 season 9–4, 6–2 in ACC play to finish in second place in the Atlantic Division. They received an invite to the Sun Bowl where they defeated Arizona State 52–31.


2018 NC State Wolfpack football team, 2018 NFL Draft
The following former NC State players were selected in the 2018 NFL Draft:


2018 NC State Wolfpack football team, Preseason, ACC media poll
The ACC media poll was released on July 24, 2018.


2018 NC State Wolfpack football team, Schedule
NC State announced its 2018 football schedule on January 17, 2018. The 2018 schedule will consist of seven home games and five away games in the regular season. The Wolfpack will host ACC foes Boston College, Florida State, Virginia, and Wake Forest and will travel to Clemson, Louisville, North Carolina, and Syracuse.


2018 NC State Wolfpack football team, Schedule
The Wolfpack will host three of the four non-conference opponents, Georgia State from the Sun Belt Conference, James Madison from Division I FCS and West Virginia from the Big 12, and will travel to Marshall from Conference USA.


2018 NC State Wolfpack football team, Awards and Honors, All-ACC Teams
Ryan Finley, Quarterback  Kelvin Harmon, Wide Receiver Jakobi Meyers, Wide Receiver  Tyler Jones, Offensive Tackle  Garrett Bradbury, Center  Germaine Pratt, Linebacker


2018 NC State Wolfpack men's soccer team
The 2018 NC State Wolfpack men's soccer team represented North Carolina State University during the 2018 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. The Wolfpack were led by head coach George Kiefer, in his second season. They played home games at Dail Soccer Field. NC State finished the season with a 10–7–3 (2–4–2) record and earned a berth into the NCAA Tournament, where they lost to Maryland in the second round.


2018 NC State Wolfpack men's soccer team, Background
The 2017 NC State men's soccer team finished the season with an 8–6–4 overall record and a 3–3–2 ACC record. The Wolfpack were seeded eight–overall in the 2017 ACC Men's Soccer Tournament, where they lost to Virginia Tech in the first round. The Wolfpack earned an at-large bid into the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament. In the tournament, the Wolfpack lost to Old Dominion in the first round.


2018 NC State Wolfpack men's soccer team, Background
At the end of the season, one Wolfpack men's soccer player was selected in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft: Caleb Duvernay.


2018 NC State Wolfpack men's soccer team, Squad, Roster
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2018 NC State Wolfpack men's soccer team, 2019 MLS SuperDraft
NC State did not have any players selected in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft.


2018 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship
The 2018 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship was the third annual tournament deciding the NCAA champions for the 2018 collegiate beach volleyball season. It took place May 4-6 in Gulf Shores, Alabama, and was hosted by the University of Alabama at Birmingham. It was a double elimination tournament, with a single championship match.


2018 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship, Qualification
The tournament was open to teams from Divisions I, II, and III. The top three teams each in the East and West Regions qualified automatically, and two additional teams were selected at large. Selections for the tournament were announced on April 29 on NCAA.com.


2018 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship, All-Tournament Team
At the conclusion of the championship, the following pairs were announced as members of the All-Tournament Team.


2018 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship, Media Coverage
In December 2017, ESPN was awarded a 5-year contract to provide television coverage of the NCAA Women’s Beach Volleyball Championship, beginning with the 2018 season. In addition, the Selection Show for the championship tournament was broadcast on April 29 at NCAA.com.


2018 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship, Media Coverage, Television channels
The 14 dual matches comprising the entirety of the championship were broadcast on the following channels:


2018 NCAA Bowling Championship
The 2018 NCAA Bowling Championship was the 15th edition of the NCAA Bowling Championship, an annual tournament to determine the national champion of women's NCAA collegiate ten-pin bowling. The tournament was played at the Tropicana Lanes in St. Louis, Missouri from April 12–14, 2018.


2018 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 ten teams contested the championship (six automatically qualifying conference champions and four at-large bids), which consisted of a modified double-elimination style tournament.


2018 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
The 2018 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament began on Friday, June 1, 2018 as part of the 2018 NCAA Division I baseball season. The 64-team, double-elimination tournament concluded with the 2018 College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, starting on June 16 and ended on June 28. The Oregon State Beavers defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks in the best-of-three final series to win the championship.


2018 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
The 64 participating NCAA Division I college baseball teams were selected out of an eligible 298 teams. Thirty-one teams will be awarded an automatic bid as champions of their conferences, and 33 teams will be selected at-large by the NCAA Division I Baseball Committee.


2018 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
Teams were divided into sixteen regionals of four teams, which conducted a double-elimination tournament. Regional champions competed in Super Regionals, a best-of-three-game series, to determine the eight participants in the College World Series. For the first time, the Tournament seeded the top 16 teams instead of pairing teams generally along geographical lines.


2018 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
In the championship series, Arkansas won the first game and held a 3-2 lead entering the top of the ninth inning in Game 2. With two outs and a runner on third, Oregon State shortstop Cadyn Grenier popped a foul ball down the right field line that multiple Razorback players appeared to have a play on. Had the ball been caught, Arkansas would have won their first national championship in baseball; instead, the ball dropped between the first baseman, second baseman, and right fielder to continue the at-bat.


2018 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
Two pitches later, with the Beavers down to their final strike, Grenier singled in the tying run, and was followed by Trevor Larnach's two-run homer to give OSU a 5-3 lead and the eventual victory to even the series. The following day, Oregon State freshman Kevin Abel - who threw 23 pitches the previous night - notched a 129-pitch complete game shutout, allowing just two hits and retiring the final 20 Razorback hitters  to secure the Beavers' third national title in baseball. Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschman was named College World Series Most Outstanding Player after collecting 13 RBI's and a College World Series record 17 hits.


2018 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, National seeds
16 National Seeds were announced on the Selection Show Monday, May 28 at 12 p.m. EDT on ESPNU. The 16 national seeds host the Regionals. Teams in italics advanced to Super Regionals. Teams in bold advanced to College World Series.


2018 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, National seeds
1. Florida2. Stanford3. Oregon State4. Ole Miss5. Arkansas6. North Carolina7. Florida State8. Georgia


2018 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, National seeds
9. Texas Tech10. Clemson11. Stetson12. East Carolina13. Texas14. Minnesota15. Coastal Carolina16. NC State


2018 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, Regionals and Super Regionals
Bold indicates winner. Seeds for regional tournaments indicate seeds within regional. Seeds for super regional tournaments indicate national seeds only.


2018 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, College World Series
The College World Series was held at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska.


2018 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, College World Series, All-Tournament Team
The following players were members of the College World Series All-Tournament Team.


2018 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, Record by conference
The columns RF, SR, WS, NS, CS, and NC respectively stand for the Regional Finals, Super Regionals, College World Series Teams, National Semifinals, Championship Series, and National Champion.


2018 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, Record by conference
Nc is non–conference records, i.e., with the records of teams within the same conference having played each other removed.


2018 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, Media coverage, Radio
NRG Media provided nationwide radio coverage of the College World Series through its Omaha station KOZN, in association with Westwood One. It was streamed at  westwoodonesports.com, on TuneIn, and on SiriusXM. Kevin Kugler and John Bishop called all games leading up to the Championship Series with  acting as the field reporter. The Championship Series was called by Kugler and Scott Graham with Bishop acting as field reporter.


2018 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, Media coverage, Television
ESPN carried every game from the Regionals, Super Regionals, and College World Series across its networks. During the Regionals and Super Regionals ESPN offered a dedicated channel, ESPN Bases Loaded (carried in the same channel allotments as its "Goal Line" services for football), carried live look-ins and analysis across all games in progress.


2018 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
The 2018 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships was the 80th annual NCAA Men's Division I Cross Country Championship and the 38th 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.


2018 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
Two human polls and a committee's selections comprised the 2018 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) 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, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll. One additional poll, the College Football Playoff (CFP) ranking, is released midway through the season after the ninth week. The CFP rankings determine who makes the four-team playoff which determines the College Football Playoff National Champion.


2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season
The 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in 2018.


2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season
The regular season began on August 25, 2018 and ended on December 8, 2018. The postseason concluded on January 7, 2019 with the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The Clemson Tigers won the title game over the Alabama Crimson Tide, the school's third national title and second in three years.


2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Rule changes, Game rules
The following rule changes were approved by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel for the 2018 season:


2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Rule changes, Eligibility rules
Major changes to redshirt rules in Division I football (both FBS and FCS) took effect from this season forward after having been approved by the NCAA Division I Council on June 13, 2018. Players can now participate in as many as four games in a season while still retaining redshirt status. This new rule does not apply to players who enroll at a school midyear and participate in postseason competition taking place during or before their first academic term at that school.


2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Conference realignment, Membership changes
New Mexico State left the Sun Belt Conference following the 2017 season and will compete as an FBS independent. Idaho also left the Sun Belt, dropping its football program from the FBS to FCS level, where it will compete in the Big Sky Conference.


2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Conference realignment, Membership changes
Liberty began a two-year transition from FCS in 2017. The Flames will be counted as an FBS independent for scheduling purposes in 2018, but will not be fully bowl-eligible until the 2019 season. However, they may participate in a bowl in 2018 if they have at least six eligible wins and there are not enough bowl-eligible teams to fill all the spots.


2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Updated stadiums, Renamed stadiums
Colorado State announced on April 19, 2018 that an area financial institution, Public Service Credit Union, had paid $37.7 million over 15 years to place its name on the venue then known as Colorado State Stadium. The new stadium name was not revealed at that time because PSCU was in the process of changing its name, with the new name expected to be announced in June 2018. The deal did not affect the playing surface, which continues to be named after former Rams head coach Sonny Lubick. On June 5, the former PSCU announced its new name of Canvas Credit Union, with the CSU venue becoming Canvas Stadium.


2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Updated stadiums, Renamed stadiums
Kansas renamed their stadium to David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium in honor of alumnus David Booth who donated $50 million to the school for renovations to the stadium.


2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Updated stadiums, Renamed stadiums
As noted above, Louisville removed the Papa John's name from Cardinal Stadium in the wake of the controversy over founder John Schnatter.


2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Kickoff games, "Week Zero"
The regular season began with four Week 0 games on Saturday, August 25:


2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Kickoff games, Week 1
The vast majority of FBS teams opened the season on Labor Day weekend. Five neutral-site "kickoff" games were held (rankings reflect the Week 1 AP Poll):


2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Regular season top 10 matchups
Rankings reflect the AP Poll. Rankings for Week 10 and beyond will list College Football Playoff Rankings first and AP Poll second. Teams that fail to be a top 10 team for one poll or the other will be noted.


2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Canceled and rescheduled games, Week 1
Three of these four teams later found replacement games to fill out their schedule.


2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Canceled and rescheduled games, Week 3
Five of the ten teams that lost games due to Florence scheduled tentative replacement games for Week 14, which is normally reserved for conference championship games.


2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Canceled and rescheduled games, Week 3
One game was moved forward and to the visiting team's stadium in anticipation of Florence:


2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Canceled and rescheduled games, Week 3
One game was moved to a neutral site in anticipation of Florence:


2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Canceled and rescheduled games, Week 14
Normally reserved for conference championship games, several games were added to the schedule to replace earlier, canceled games. All of these games were contingent upon both teams being available.


2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Canceled and rescheduled games, Postseason
The 2018 First Responder Bowl on December 26 between Boston College and Boise State was canceled after severe weather hit the Dallas area. The game was stopped due to lightning in the area shortly after BC had taken a 7–0 lead in the first quarter, and was canceled about 90 minutes later. Lightning continued in the vicinity of the stadium for an additional 90 minutes, and further severe weather was expected for later that night. According to an NCAA spokesperson, this was believed to be the first bowl game ever called off due to weather conditions.


2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Conference summaries
Rankings reflect the Week 14 AP Poll before the conference championship games were played.


2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Postseason, Bowl selections
There were 39 team-competitive post-season bowl games, with two teams advancing to a 40th – the CFP National Championship game. Normally, a team is required to have a .500 minimum winning percentage during the regular season to become bowl-eligible (six wins for an 11- or 12-game schedule, and seven wins for a 13-game schedule). If there are not enough winning teams to fulfill all open bowl slots, teams with losing records may be chosen to fill all 78 bowl slots. Additionally, on the rare occasion in which a conference champion does not meet eligibility requirements, they are usually still chosen for bowl games via tie-ins for their conference.


2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Postseason, Bowl selections, Bowl–eligible teams
Number of bowl berths available: 78Number of bowl-eligible teams: 82


2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Postseason, Bowl selections, Bowl–ineligible teams
* Liberty was not bowl-eligible until 2019 due to their transition from FCS to FBS. If Liberty had at least six wins and there were not enough bowl-eligible teams, they could have requested an NCAA waiver to participate in a bowl; Liberty did reach six wins, but there were more than enough bowl-eligible teams to fill the available bids.


2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Postseason, Bowl selections, Bowl–ineligible teams
** Ole Miss, who finished their regular season with a 5–7 record, was under a self-imposed two-year bowl ban that applied for the 2017 and 2018 seasons.


2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Postseason, College Football Playoff
Since the 2014–15 postseason, six College Football Playoff (CFP) bowl games have hosted two semifinal playoff games on a rotating basis. For this season, the Cotton Bowl and the Orange Bowl hosted the semifinal games, with the winners advancing to the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.


2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Awards and honors, Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player.


2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Rankings, CFB Playoff final rankings
On December 2, 2018, the College Football Playoff selection committee announced its final team rankings for the year.


2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Coaching changes, Preseason and in-season
This is restricted to coaching changes taking place on or after May 1, 2018. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2018, see 2017 NCAA Division I FBS end-of-season coaching changes.


2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Coaching changes, End of season
This list includes coaching changes announced during the season that did not take effect until the end of the season.


2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Television viewers and ratings, Most watched regular-season games
All times Eastern. Rankings are from the AP Poll (before 10/30) and CFP Rankings (thereafter).


2018 NCAA Division I FCS football rankings
The 2018 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) football rankings consists of two human polls, in addition to various publications' preseason polls. Unlike the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), college football's governing body, the NCAA, bestows the national championship title through a 24-team tournament. The following weekly polls determine the top 25 teams at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision level of college football for the 2018 season. The STATS poll is voted by media members while the Coaches' Poll is determined by coaches at the FCS level.


2018 NCAA Division I FCS football rankings
The STATS preseason poll was released on August 6, 2018, with defending champions North Dakota State earning 151 of the 157 allotted first-place votes; defending runners-up James Madison earned the other six.


2018 NCAA Division I FCS football rankings
The Coaches' poll was released on August 13, 2018 - it consisted of an identical top six, with defending champions North Dakota State receiving 23 of the 26 first-place votes.


2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season
The 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of college football in the United States, was organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The FCS Championship Game was played on January 5, 2019, in Frisco, Texas. North Dakota State claimed its second consecutive FCS title, and seventh in eight years.


2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season, Conference changes and new programs, Membership changes
In addition to the schools changing conferences, the 2018 season was the last for Savannah State in D-I with its decision to reclassify all of its sports to D-II.


2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season, Kickoff games
One kickoff game was played during "Week Zero" on August 25:


2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season, FCS team wins over FBS teams
(FCS rankings from the STATS poll, FBS rankings from the AP poll.)


2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season, Hurricane Florence
Several games on the east coast were rescheduled, canceled, or moved due to Hurricane Florence:


2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season, Conference summaries, Other conference winners
Note: Records are regular-season only, and do not include playoff games.


2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season, Coaching changes, Preseason and in-season
This is restricted to coaching changes that took place on or after May 1, 2018. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2018, see 2017 NCAA Division I FCS end-of-season coaching changes.


2018 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship
The 2018 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship is the 38th annual tournament organized by the NCAA, to determine the national champion of Division I women's college field hockey in the United States.


2018 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship
The semifinals and championship match will be played at Trager Stadium at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky from November 16 to 18, 2018.


2018 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game
The 2018 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game that determined a national champion in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision for the 2017 season. It was played at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, on January 6, 2018, with kickoff at 12:00 noon EST, and was the culminating game of the 2017 FCS Playoffs. With sponsorship from Northwestern Mutual, the game was officially known as the NCAA FCS Football Championship Presented by Northwestern Mutual.


2018 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game, Teams
The participants of the 2018 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game were the finalists of the 2017 FCS Playoffs, which began with a 24-team bracket. No. 1 seed James Madison and No. 2 seed North Dakota State qualified for the final by winning their semifinal games. James Madison was the designated home team for the final game.


2018 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game, Teams, North Dakota State Bison
North Dakota State finished their regular season with a 10–1 record (7–1 in conference). Their one loss was to South Dakota State, 33–21. In the FCS playoffs, they defeated San Diego, Wofford, and Sam Houston State to reach the finals. The Bison entered the championship game with a 5–0 record in prior FCS finals, occurring consecutively in the 2011 through 2015 seasons.


2018 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game, Teams, James Madison Dukes
James Madison finished their regular season with an 11–0 record (8–0 in conference). In the FCS playoffs, they defeated Stony Brook, Weber State, and South Dakota State to reach the finals. The Dukes entered the championship game with a 2–0 record in prior FCS/Division I-AA finals, having defeated Montana for the 2004 season title, and Youngstown State for the 2016 season title.


2018 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships
The 2018 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships was the 54th NCAA Men's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships and the 37th NCAA Women's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships, held at the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium in College Station, Texas near the campus of the host school, the Texas A&M University. In total, thirty-four different men's and women's indoor track and field events were contested from March 9 to March 10, 2018.


2018 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships, Results, Men's results, 4 x 400 meters relay
1 The USC time of 3:00.77 was rejected as a record as the team consisted of three Americans and one from Antigua and Barbuda: IAAF rules require all runners of a relay team to be of the same nationality for records.


2018 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game
The 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game was the final game of the single-elimination tournament to determine the men's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 2017–18 season. The game was played on April 2, 2018, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, between the Michigan Wolverines and the Villanova Wildcats. Michigan last won the NCAA championship in 1989, while Villanova won the championship in 2016.


2018 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game
Villanova defeated Michigan, 79–62. Donte DiVincenzo, a reserve player, scored 31 points for Villanova, and was named the NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player.


2018 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Participants, Michigan
The Michigan Wolverines last won the NCAA Tournament in 1989. Their most recent appearance in the championship game was in 2013. At one point unranked in the AP Poll, Michigan won their final 14 games before the title game to end the 2017–18 regular season with a 28–7 win-loss record after winning the 2018 Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Tournament. They earned the No. 3 seed in the West Regional.


2018 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Participants, Michigan
Michigan defeated the No. 14 Montana Grizzlies in the first round by a score of 61–47. They then reached the Sweet 16 by defeating the No. 6 Houston Cougars, 64–63, on a buzzer beater by Jordan Poole. They made it to the Elite Eight by defeating the Texas A&M Aggies, 99–72. Michigan advanced to the Final Four by defeating the Florida State Seminoles, 58–54, and defeated the "Cinderella story" of the tournament, the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers, in the Final Four by a score of 69–57.


2018 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Participants, Villanova
The Villanova Wildcats won the NCAA Tournament in 2016. In 2017–18, Villanova set the NCAA record for three-point shots in a season and in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. After completing a 30–4 regular season, including winning the 2018 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament, Villanova was ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll and earned the No. 1 seed in the East Regional.


2018 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Participants, Villanova
In the first round, Villanova defeated the No. 16 Radford Highlanders, 87–61. Villanova blew out the No. 9 Alabama Crimson Tide by a score of 81–58 in the second round. In the Sweet 16, Villanova beat the West Virginia Mountaineers, 90–78. Villanova won against the No. 3 Texas Tech Red Raiders, 71–59, to make the Final Four. They defeated the Kansas Jayhawks by a score of 95–79 in the Final Four to reach the championship game. In their victory over Kansas, Villanova set an NCAA Tournament Final Four single-game record with 18 three-point shots.


2018 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Starting lineups
Selected in an NBA Draft (number corresponds to draft round)


2018 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Game summary
The announced attendance for the game was 67,831. During the first half, Moritz Wagner of Michigan scored nine of the team's first 11 points, as Michigan took a 21–14 lead. Villanova went on a 22–7 scoring run to end the half leading Michigan, 37–28. Donte DiVincenzo, who entered the game off of the bench as a reserve player, scored 18 points out of Villanova's first 32. During the second half, DiVincenzo scored 11 consecutive points, putting Villanova 16 points ahead of Michigan. Villanova outscored Michigan by a score of 42–34 in the second half to win the championship by a score of 79–62. Villanova led Michigan in rebounds, 38–27, and limited the Wolverines to three three-point shots.


2018 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Game summary
With the 17 point victory, Villanova won each game in the tournament by double digit margins. DiVincenzo scored a total of 31 points, the most in a national championship game by a player who did not start. DiVincenzo's 31 points led the game, and he was named the NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player.


2018 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Media coverage
The National Championship game was broadcast in the United States by TBS. Jim Nantz provided play-by-play, while Bill Raftery and Grant Hill provided color commentary and Tracy Wolfson served as the sideline reporter. The pre-game and post-game shows included analysis by Greg Gumbel, Ernie Johnson Jr., Seth Davis, Clark Kellogg, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley. TBS's sister channels, TNT and TruTV, also aired special broadcasts of the game, bring back the "Team Stream" broadcasts that catered to fans of the respective teams. Team Streams, which had been in use since the 2014 Final Four, returned after a one-year hiatus.


2018 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Media coverage
Philadelphia-based announcer Scott Graham was the play-by-play man for Villanova's stream on TruTV, with former Villanova guard Randy Foye providing color commentary. NESN reporter and Villanova alum Kacie McDonnell worked the sidelines. On TNT's Michigan-centered broadcast, Michigan women's basketball play-by-play announcer Matt Park worked alongside former NFL kicker Jay Feely and CNN medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, both Michigan alums. The game drew an estimated 10.3 Nielsen rating across the three networks, the lowest for a national championship game, but the highest on television for the night of April 2.


2018 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game, Media coverage
ESPN International owns the international broadcast rights for 180 countries. In Canada, the game aired on TSN. Radio coverage in the United States was provided by Westwood One.


2018 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 68 teams to determine the men's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 2017–18 season. The 80th annual edition of the tournament began on March 13, 2018, and concluded with the championship game on April 2 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.