NBA – 17 years later, LeBron James’s take on the 2008 Olympics’ Redeem Team: «Nothing to do with us»

Par Joël Pütz | Journaliste sportif

Along with other superstars, LeBron James put Team USA back on the map at the Beijing Olympics. Seventeen years later, the forward reflected on the “Redeem Team’s” epic triumph in China with emotion.

Surprisingly, the United States was going through a rough patch in the mid-2000s. Accustomed to winning gold medals in every competition, they had nevertheless stumbled at the 2004 Athens Olympics and then at the 2006 World Cup in Japan. Each time, Team USA’s bosses had assembled a team that was certainly packed with superstars, but without any real collective alchemy.

However, this was no longer enough to occupy the first place while countries like Argentina and especially Spain were booming. The 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing were therefore intended to put Team USA back on the throne and for that, no detail was overlooked. The roster was certainly still full of stars, but the federation had wanted to ensure that it was as harmonious as possible, even if it meant doing without certain players.

LeBron James opens his heart about the Beijing Olympics

LeBron James, for example, was almost rejected due to his attitude ahead of the competition, before changing his mind and joining a terrifying squad that included Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, and Dwight Howard. Nearly two decades later, the forward reflected on this epic adventure with the Hollywood Reporter, being very honest about the atmosphere that reigned in the locker room:

We understood that going into the Beijing Olympics, that it had nothing to do with the names on our backs — it had everything to do about the red, white and blue in the “USA” on our front. And we understood that we were carrying the whole country. We had a couple of down years in USA Basketball during the transition period, and that’s why the name “Redeem” was— it was the most appropriate name for that team.

We went out to Beijing with that on our shoulders, in our hearts and in our souls. To go out and not only dominate on the floor, but also dominate off the court by being role models and speaking out and doing the things that we need to do to continue to push our unbelievable sport forward — but us as humans as well.

So yeah, we were very, very proud to be able to stand on that podium and listen to our national anthem. The group of guys had one common goal, and that was to bring home gold and make our people proud. And I think we did.

That’s an understatement, as despite ever-increasing competition, Team USA has won the last five Olympics to date.