2008–09 Lega Basket Serie A
The 2008–09 Lega Basket Serie A season, known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons, was the 87th season of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA), the top tier professional basketball league division of the Italian basketball league system.
| Lega Basket Serie A | |
|---|---|
| Season | 2008–09 |
| Duration | October 12, 2008 – June 16, 2009 |
| Number of teams | 16 |
| Regular season | |
| Top seed | Montepaschi Siena |
| Season MVP | Terrell McIntyre |
| Relegated | GMAC Bologna Snaidero Udine |
| Finals | |
| Champions | Montepaschi Siena 4th title |
| Runners-up | Armani Jeans Milano |
| Semifinalists | Benetton Treviso Angelico Biella |
| Finals MVP | Terrell McIntyre |
← 2007–08 2009–10 → | |
The regular season ran from September 30, 2007, to April 27, 2008, 16 teams played each other team in home and away matches. At the end of the regular season, the top 8 teams advanced to the championship play-off whilst the lowest ranked teams, GMAC Bologna and Snaidero Udine, were relegated to the Legadue.
The original number of teams was 18, but on September 20, 2008, the Federal Council of the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP) discovered administrative irregularities committed by Basket Napoli and UPEA Capo d'Orlando and decided to deny them professional licenses. The council also chose not to substitute them with any teams from LegADue, and at the same time decided to permanently reduce the number of teams in the top flight to 16.
Montepaschi Siena swept virtually all before them domestically, winning the SuperCoppa Italiana before the season and the Coppa Italia at midseason, losing in the league only once (at Fortitudo Bologna), and going unbeaten through the playoffs to claim their third straight title.