The 2008 Redeem Team was the United States Olympics men’s basketball team that managed to win the gold medal after the 2004 Olympics team ended up shockingly getting beat by Argentina. The team featured a star-studded cast, with notable inclusions being LeBron James and Kobe Bryant.
One notable name that was absent from the 2008 Redeem Team was Allen Iverson, who was notably part of the 2004 Olympics team. When speaking to Kevin Hart, Allen Iverson revealed that he wanted to be part of the 2008 team, and admitted that deep down, “it hurt” him to not be part of the team. (11:58)
That summer everything started happening overseas. Me and Tim Duncan were the only ones that agreed to go. I wanted to go. But I wasn’t invited. And then they put together obviously the team that ended up winning.
It was out of my control. I definitely didn’t want to make a big deal about it, out of respect for the guys that they did choose. I rooted for them to the end, but deep down it bothered me. It hurt.
Obviously, it is hard to argue with the results of the 2008 Redeem Team, as they managed to bring the gold medal back to the United States. Allen Iverson playing on the team could have potentially made them even better as a squad from a talent standpoint though, and it is unfortunate that he wasn’t able to play.
Kevin Durant Was Also Snubbed From The Redeem Team
Allen Iverson wasn’t the only one who missed out on the opportunity to be part of the Redeem Team. Kevin Durant has previously claimed that he was also disappointed in the fact that he wasn’t part of the 2008 squad.
“I was disappointed not making the [2008] Olympic team. I felt I played my way onto the team. Nobody really expected me to play that well in the practices, but I was 19 and I felt like I got snubbed. I felt disrespected, and I was like, “Nah, this can’t go down like that. It’s not happening again.” I was just so upset that I wasn’t part of the Redeem Team. You could tell those guys had so much fun playing with each other and I wanted that even if I was on the bench. I just wanted to learn, soak that energy up from those guys.”
It would have definitely been interesting to see Kevin Durant on the same team as LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. It would have made for some fantastic basketball on the court.
There is no doubt that Allen Iverson and Kevin Durant would have both been solid additions to the 2008 team. However, there is a lot of talent in the United States every time the Olympics happen, and it’s hard to choose between a lot of different elite players.
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