The NBA is the best basketball league in the world, and it has been home to some of the most talented athletes in the history of the sport. Evidently, the national team of the United States is expected to be pretty strong in each Olympics.
The first time when NBA players were allowed to represent their country was in the 1992 Olympics when The Dream Team was born. Team USA easily brought home the gold medal and continued to do so until the 2004 Olympics.
That year, the likes of LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwyane Wade were sent to represent their team. But it was one of the most disappointing campaigns in the Olympics by Team USA.
There was no cohesion between the players on the team, and it ultimately resulted in the United States settling for the bronze medal.
LeBron James’ True Thoughts On Being Part Of Team USA For The 2004 Olympics
That offseason, LBJ had just finished his rookie season, and he wanted to spend time with his family or simply improve his craft before the new NBA season started. But since he played for Team USA, he couldn’t do that, only for the team to settle for the bronze medal.
In Netflix’s recent The Redeem Team documentary, LeBron James talked about playing for Team USA in 2004. He labeled that experience as a waste of his time.
(Starts at 19:23)
Via Netflix:
“I’m sitting at the podium receiving the bronze medal like, ‘this s*** was a waste of my time.’ At that moment, I definitely wasn’t playing for Team USA again.”
Thankfully, LeBron James had a change of heart ahead of the 2008 Olympics. He once again played for Team USA, and this time around, he was part of the 2008 Redeem Team. James not only played for Team USA, but he also helped them in winning the gold medal.
