Redeem Team enters Hall of Fame after restoring USA Basketball’s dominance

The image everyone remembers is Kobe Bryant, finger to his lips, after burying Spain with a four-point play in the 2008 gold medal game. That snapshot will be everywhere again this weekend in Springfield, as written by ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, when the Redeem Team is officially inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

As Windhorst also noted, the story of that group runs much deeper than one fourth quarter or one summer.

The “Redeem” label came after back-to-back embarrassments — bronze in Athens in 2004 and another stumble in the 2006 World Championships against Greece. Windhorst noted that players like LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Carlos Boozer lived through that misery. James even said in the Netflix documentary that he considered walking away from Team USA altogether.

Instead, they doubled down. Jerry Colangelo demanded multi-summer commitments, Mike Krzyzewski learned to embrace zone defense, and Kobe set the tone. Windhorst recalled the famous Vegas camp when Bryant skipped the clubbing scene and headed for predawn workouts — and made sure his teammates saw him. LeBron soon followed, and a new culture took hold.

By Beijing, the Americans were battle-hardened. Spain cut a double-digit lead to two in the fourth quarter, but Bryant seized the huddle and then the game. As Windhorst pointed out, his leadership had been building since 2007, and that night in China cemented it.

Six players from that roster are now Hall of Famers, with more to come. Anthony and Dwight Howard are being honored this weekend for both their NBA careers and their Olympic gold. James and Chris Paul will eventually join them — after becoming the first active NBA players to be inducted.

As Windhorst wrote, the Redeem Team “put USA Basketball on a course” that led to four more golds and counting. The Dream Team set the bar. The Redeem Team saved the program.