Team USA has enjoyed immense success in its Olympic history, winning 17 out of the 21 gold medals since basketball became an event in the Olympics in 1936.
The men's team has also won the last five gold medals, and it could have been six. However, the 2004 tournament put a dent in the program's reputation. But the Americans rallied back to redeem their image after that disappointment.
The pressure for redemption
Heading to Athens in 2004, Team USA looked for its fourth-straight Olympic gold medal. However, they finished in a disappointing third place. The bronze medal threatened their image as a basketball powerhouse. After another bronze two years later in the 2006 FIBA World Championships, they needed to take action.
The "Redeem Team" was formed ahead of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing to reclaim its image. Made up of the best of the best players at the time, the pressure was mounted on the team to deliver, and anything other than a gold medal wasn't going to be good.
"It's ironic because a lot of people will be happy with a bronze medal, but not us… It was exciting, but also, there was some pressure on us," said former NBA point guard Deron Williams of the Redeem Team. "But I don't think we ever had a doubt who the best team was; it was just a matter of us putting it together in a short amount of time."
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Claiming back the legacy
Led by coach Mike Krzyzewski, the Redeem Team roster featured NBA icons, including the 2008 NBA scoring champion LeBron James , league MVP Kobe Bryant , Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony, and 2000 gold medalist Jason Kidd. With a roster filled with youth and experience, there wouldn't be any excuse had they fallen short of the gold medal. Coach K had to find a way to gel the squad together.
"We weren't a group that had been playing together since we were young, as a lot of these European and South American teams do. And so it was some pressure," Williams added.
The Redeem Team dominated its pool play by winning all five games, including victories over Spain and blowing out Germany by 49 points. The Americans cruised past Australia in the quarterfinals and met Argentina for a chance at sweet revenge in the semis.
Led by Carmelo's 21 points, Team USA defeated the Argentines, who were unfortunately without star man Manu Ginobili , to set up a gold medal matchup with Spain. In the championship game, D-Wade exploded for 27 points on 100% shooting inside the paint.
The legacy of Team USA was redeemed. The legacy has remained intact since then, with gold medals in London in 2012, Rio in 2016, Tokyo in 2020, and most recently in Paris this summer.
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