Redeem Team Gets It Done

Chad Klassen
Love of Sports Correspondent

For the first time since 2000, the U.S. is back on top the basketball world, winning its 13th gold medal since the sport was introduced at the Games in 1936.

But it didn’t come easily for the Redeem Team. It took a gutsy performance against Spain on the final day of competition to win 118-107 and reclaim their spot atop the medal stand.

Every time it looked like the Americans delivered the final blow, especially the two clutch three-pointers late by Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade to quiet the Spanish faithful, Spain responded and kept battling back. That is, until Portland prospect Rudy Fernandez fouled out and ruined any chance of a comeback.

For many reasons, this one feels more satisfying than any other Olympic crowning of the past, including the complete domination put forth by the 1992 Dream Team.

Don’t get me wrong, the combination of Michael, Larry and Magic was pretty special to watch and relive as the most dominating performance ever. But the Redeem Team deserves the title for the most crowning achievement for USA Basketball, proving to people a group of spoiled NBA stars can put their egos aside for a two-week tournament and play together as a team.

They showed up the world like they’d done for so many years before 2004 in Athens, going undefeated in Beijing and making some of the wins look easy in the process. Unlike 1992 in Barcelona, which was absolutely no contest, it was a long and hard road for the country to regain its form and take the gold back to American soil.

Most importantly, though, there seemed to be no internal bickering, like there was so prominently in Athens, and the players were encouraging towards each other like it is on any championship team. Guys who are front and center on their NBA teams sat on the bench and accepted their niche roles on the team.

You have to give a tremendous amount of the credit to both Jerry Colangelo, the architect of the Redeem Team, and head coach Mike Krzyzewski, who had his players buying into the team concept.

Remember that the program had fallen on hard times in the last five years, failing to put together the right mix of NBA All-Stars that resulted in the bronze medal in Athens, as well as the ridiculous sixth and third-place finishes at the 2002 and 2006 FIBA World Championship, respectively.

The fact of the matter is international failures and embarrassment from 2002-06 era made for many doubters they could compile a basketball squad that could play as a team and beat the world’s best.

Countries like Spain and Lithuania got an absolutely rude awakening by the U.S. Dream Team in 1992 and took the necessary steps to improve their basketball programs, now sending elite squads to the Olympics that compete for gold.

They started to put more money into developing top-quality basketball players after experiencing that slaughtering and have produced the best players from Europe. They’ve subsequently caught up to the Americans, in fact transforming the international game to the point where the U.S. has had to adjust.

These are the highlights that make this Olympic gold the most proud accomplishment for USA Basketball. Despite having all the best players around the world, they had to persevere through all the questions and adversity the country faced prior to the opening tip-off in Beijing and earn their way back to glory.