2008 United States men's Olympic basketball team

The men's national basketball team of the United States won the gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. They qualified for the Olympics by winning the 2007 FIBA American Championship held in Las Vegas, Nevada. The team was nicknamed the "Redeem Team", a play on an alternative name for the legendary 1992 squad that was called the "Dream Team", and a reference to the fact that the United States came away with disappointing bronze medals during the 2004 Summer Olympics and the 2006 FIBA World Championship. Former Phoenix Suns chairman and CEO Jerry Colangelo was named managing director of the national team program by the USA Basketball Executive Committee in 2005.[1] Kobe Bryant was named the team captain and Mike Krzyzewski was named the head coach of the 2008 team."[2] An ESPN program, Road to Redemption, followed the team's preparations. Additionally, a Netflix produced documentary titled The Redeem Team was released in 2022.[3]

2008 United States men's Olympic basketball team
Head coachMike Krzyzewski
2008 Summer Olympics
Scoring leaderUnited States Dwyane Wade
16.0
Rebounding leaderUnited States Chris Bosh
6.9
Assists leaderUnited States Chris Paul
4.0
The USA Men's Basketball Team on August 10, 2008.

The United States defeated Spain 118–107 in the final to win the gold. Dwyane Wade was the leading scorer for team USA averaging 16 points per game.[4] The 2008 team has significance, as it reasserted the United States as the dominant country in terms of international basketball.

The withdrawal of all major stars prior to the 2004 Olympics and an embarrassing performance of those young and inexperienced who were called to replace them prompted USA Basketball to change its approach to the formation of a national team. As a result, the organization initiated a long-term project that saw NBA players committing to play for the team long before the start of the 2008 Olympics (instead of hastily accepting invitations merely weeks prior to the start of the tournament). Many 2008 Olympians participated in the 2007 Americas championships, where the US won gold, thus qualifying for the Olympics. The final roster featured eleven NBA All-Stars, a Hall of Fame coach, and one NBA MVP (at the time).

Record
Main article: United States at the 2008 Summer Olympics § Basketball

Preliminary round
Main article: Basketball at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament § Group B

The team competed in Group B of the preliminary round.

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1  United States 5 5 0 515 354 +161 10 Quarterfinals
2  Spain 5 4 1 418 369 +49 9
3  Greece 5 3 2 415 375 +40 8
4  China (H) 5 2 3 366 400 −34 7
5  Germany 5 1 4 330 390 −60 6
6  Angola 5 0 5 321 477 −156 5
Source: FIBA archive
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.
(H) Hosts
August 10, 2008
United States 101 – 70 China
August 12, 2008
Angola 76 – 97 United States
August 14, 2008
United States 92 – 69 Greece
August 16, 2008
Spain 82 – 119 United States
August 18, 2008
United States 106 – 57 Germany

Tournament bracket
Main article: Basketball at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament § Knockout round
Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
         
A1  Lithuania 94
B4  China 68
A1  Lithuania 86
B2  Spain 91
B2  Spain 72
A3  Croatia 59
B2  Spain 107
B1  United States 118
B1  United States 116
A4  Australia 85
B1  United States 101 Bronze medal game
A2  Argentina 81
A2  Argentina 80 A1  Lithuania 75
B3  Greece 78 A2  Argentina 87

Roster

The following is the United States roster in the men's basketball tournament of the 2008 Summer Olympics.[5]

United States men's national basketball team – 2008 Summer Olympics roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameAge – Date of birthHeightClubCtr.
F 4 Carlos Boozer 26 – (1981-11-20)November 20, 1981 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) Utah Jazz United States
G 5 Jason Kidd 35 – (1973-03-23)March 23, 1973 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Dallas Mavericks United States
F 6 LeBron James 23 – (1984-12-30)December 30, 1984 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) Cleveland Cavaliers United States
G 7 Deron Williams 24 – (1984-06-26)June 26, 1984 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Utah Jazz United States
G 8 Michael Redd 28 – (1979-08-24)August 24, 1979 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) Milwaukee Bucks United States
G 9 Dwyane Wade 26 – (1982-01-17)January 17, 1982 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Miami Heat United States
G 10 Kobe Bryant (C) 29 – (1978-08-23)August 23, 1978 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) Los Angeles Lakers United States
C 11 Dwight Howard 22 – (1985-12-08)December 8, 1985 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) Orlando Magic United States
F/C 12 Chris Bosh 24 – (1984-03-24)March 24, 1984 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) Toronto Raptors Canada
G 13 Chris Paul 23 – (1985-05-06)May 6, 1985 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) New Orleans Hornets United States
F 14 Tayshaun Prince 28 – (1980-02-28)February 28, 1980 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) Detroit Pistons United States
F 15 Carmelo Anthony 24 – (1984-05-29)May 29, 1984 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) Denver Nuggets United States
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Club – describes last
    club before the tournament
  • Age – describes age
    on August 9, 2008

References
  1. "USA BASKETBALL ANNOUNCES 12-MEMBER 2008 MEN'S SENIOR NATIONAL TEAM". teamusa.org. Archived from the original on March 2, 2014.
  2. Sean Gregory (July 24, 2008). "1. LeBron James - 100 Olympic Athletes To Watch". Time. Time Magazine. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
  3. The Redeem Team (Documentary).
  4. "2008 Stats - United States".
  5. "2008 Olympic Basketball Men (FIBA) – United States roster". FIBA. Archived from the original on June 2, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
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