After the United States suffered a humiliating 6th place in the 2002 FIBA World Championship held in Indiana, they assembled a strong team that won the 2003 Tournament of Americas and qualified for the 2004 Olympics. However, only Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan, and Richard Jefferson chose to return for the Athens games.
Needing reinforcements, USA Basketball enlisted three of the best rookies from the 2004 NBA Draft class- LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony , and Dwyane Wade, to provide support for A.I., Timmy, and RJ. But without continuity, they earned the dubious distinction of becoming the first NBA-led Team USA to suffer a loss in the Olympics.
During the recent episode of Carmelo's 7PM in Brooklyn podcast, the former Syracuse standout discussed the chaos within that team.
"The '04 Olympics was like disgusting," said Melo. "You know what I mean? Like just the vibe of it, the energy of it, nobody knew they place, nobody knew they role, nobody knew why everybody was…Nobody knew that."
There was no structure at first
After settling for the bronze medal in Athens, Team USA 's next stop was the 2006 World Championships in Japan. Because there was no continuity at that time, a new batch of supporting cast joined Melo, LeBron, and Wade. Without chemistry, Team USA finished third.
Those back-to-back setbacks forced USAB to create a structure where players had to commit to the program for three years. That resulted in camps, mini-camps, and scrimmage games every summer in Las Vegas.
"So now we're preparing for sh** like those other countries are," added Anthony. "Every year, so now we come back '08, it's like oh sh**, like the Redeem Team is here, like these nig***, they ain't coming to play. A similar feeling to what people are saying now, like how that team is structured. At that point, we wasn't going back to '04 and '06."
Related: Mike Krzyzewski talks about coaching LeBron James: "He and Kobe were the two guys who were just above everyone in preparation"
The Black Mamba returned to Team USA
With Kobe Bryant back and taking the leader's role and the trio of Melo, Bron, and D-Wade more experienced than the last time around, the Redeem Team went on to sweep all their games at the Beijing Olympics. They defeated their opponents by an average winning margin of 27.9 points per game and took home the gold medal.
The quintet of Kobe, LeBron, Carmelo, D-Wade, and Chris Paul returned for another ride in London. With continuation and chemistry, the 2012 version of Team USA dominated their opposition and won by an average margin of 32.1 PPG, a number topped only by the 1992 Dream Team's 43.8 PPG winning margin.
As if the Americans hadn't learned their lesson from the past, they sent a young and inexperienced team to the 2023 FIBA World Cup in the Philippines. That squad finished outside the medal podium in 4th place, forcing USAB to assemble the 'Avengers' team for the Paris Olympics. Interestingly, that team is captained by the lone member of the 2004 U.S. Olympic team who is still playing in the NBA right now—LBJ.
Related: "I ain't fu*king with it" - Carmelo Anthony didn’t want to play for Team USA again after disappointments in the 2004 Olympics and 2006 WC
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