After disappointing bronze finishes in the 2004 Summer Olympics and 2006 FIBA World Championship, Team USA banded together in 2008 with a new motive to turn things around.
Dubbed as the ‘Redeem Team’ they went on to win Gold that year thanks to the combined leadership of LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Dwyane Wade.
And now, thanks to Netflix, we get to re-live that experience in an upcoming documentary themed after the legendary run.
“The Redeem Team,” a documentary on the 2008 U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team, premieres Oct. 7, Netflix announced Friday.
The film is a Netflix and International Olympic Committee collaboration with executive producers including LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, two of the leaders on the team that took gold at the Beijing Games, four years after the U.S. dropped to bronze at the Athens Olympics.
In 2020, Wade said he was executive producing a film on the team that was coached by Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski.
“It’s something that we’ve been working on for the last year or so,” Wade said then on the Platform Basketball podcast. “For me, that was a big year, 2008. I had to kind of redeem myself, because everybody thought I was done.
In 2004, the US Olympic Men's Basketball team lost the gold and sought redemption in Beijing 2008. @KingJames, @DwyaneWade, and Kobe Bryant led The Redeem Team. This is that story. #TUDUM pic.twitter.com/95MCsOQ6h3
— Netflix (@netflix) September 24, 2022
The ‘Redeem Team’ Featured One Of The Most Star-Studded Casts In Olympic Basketball History
Besides the ‘Dream Team’ of the 90s, there may be no other Team USA squad more well-known than the Redeem Team. Besides Wade, Bryant, and James, they also had Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Deron Williams, Chris Bosh, and Jason Kidd.
Michael Redd was also on that squad, and it’s an experience he treasures to this day.
During a recent interview on the Ball Don’t Stop podcast, Redd opened up about his time on the Redeem Team and how proud he was of himself after winning it all alongside players like Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, and LeBron James.
“I went from a second-round pick to being on the Redeem Team and winning a gold medal with Kobe, Wade and LeBron. It was like a dream. You still have to pinch me. It was by far the highlight of my playing career,” Redd stated.
Needless to say, it’s a long overdue project that will bring smiles to millions of viewers around the globe. The story of the 2008 USA Basketball Team is more than just redemption, it’s also one about hard work and cooperation.
The doc releases next month, but excitement levels will no doubt only rise as the day gets closer.
