The 2008 Redeem Team was a pretty big deal 14 years ago, and after all this time, nothing has changed. That squad made a big statement in Beijing, winning the gold medal at the Summer Olympic Games, and demolishing the competition on the way to the top of the podium.
That was a star-studded team with big players like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, and more. They got the job done, going on an incredible run and beating Spain to get the biggest prize.
After the fiasco Team USA lived in Athens in 2004, many players wanted to represent the country again and showed to the world that they were still the best team on earth. Led by Kobe, who became the leader of the roster, Team USA won the gold medal, leaving one player upset after not making the cut.
Kevin Durant Reveals His True Feelings On Not Making The 2008 ‘Redeem Team’ Roster
After finishing his first season in the NBA, Kevin Durant went to camp with the rest of the players, but he couldn’t make the final cut. In 2019, Durant revealed he was mad and felt disrespected for not being selected to represent the country in China that year.
Via CBS Sports:
“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.”
If you think KD was too young to make that team, that’s not a good reason. LeBron and Carmelo were young in 2004 and made the team. Four years later, Anthony Davis would make it to the Olympic Team without having played a single game in the NBA, so Durant’s claim was justified. However, seeing the type of talent that the squad had, it was hard to decide which player had to stay in the US to make room for the 2008 Rookie of the Year.
