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LeBron Had Perfect Explanation for How Kobe Bryant Shaped 'Redeem Team'

The late Bryant was a key member of the '08 team that won Gold in Beijing.

Josh Wilson

Bryant, James, Dwyane Wade, and Carmelo Anthony were key members of the '08 national team.
Bryant, James, Dwyane Wade, and Carmelo Anthony were key members of the '08 national team. / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

The 2008 U.S. men's basketball team had a big job to do. It needed to reinforce its place as the global leader of the sport after a hugely disappointing outcome to the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, where the team earned a bronze medal.

The 'Redeem Team' as it became known lived up to its billing, dominating opponents in Beijing, going undefeated in group play before storming their way to the gold-medal final where they defeated Spain 118-107.

That distinguished team was inducted to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday, and several members of the team were on hand to recall the summer and speak on that particular team's success.

LeBron James spoke on Kobe Bryant's importance to the team on stage at the induction.

"[He was] the missing link that we needed... He brought a sense of seriousness to the team. He made us lock in. We knew once he joined that he was going to be committed, you know, that we couldn't be doing nothing half-a--. Kob' wasn't going for that. It made myself, CP, D-Wade, Melo we all locked in even more because we wanted to show him we could get to that level as well. "

James, Wade and Anthony all were on the '04 team, but Bryant was not. Clearly, James felt that the infamous 'Mamba Mentality' Bryant brought to any competition was a huge differentiator between '04 and '08.

"He had already won championships before and things of that nature, so it was levels I was trying to get to... We just wanted to get to his level and make him proud.

"We for sure made him proud," LeBron concluded, alluding to the gold medal the national team brought home.

Bryant died in a helicopter crash in 2020, making it surely bittersweet to recall Bryant's impact on that team and the success of a gold medal for every lasting member of the team.

In addition to James and Wade, Jason Kidd, Chris Paul, Mike Krzyzewski ('08 head coach) and Jerry Colangelo (director of the team) were on stage to discuss the team and its achievement. Anthony was in attendance as well, inducted as an individual to the Hall on Saturday.

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Josh Wilson
JOSH WILSON

Josh Wilson is the news director of the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in 2024, he worked for FanSided in a variety of roles, most recently as senior managing editor of the brand’s flagship site. He has also served as a general manager of Sportscasting, the sports arm of a start-up sports media company, where he oversaw the site’s editorial and business strategy. Wilson has a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from SUNY Cortland and a master’s in accountancy from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois. He loves a good nonfiction book and enjoys learning and practicing Polish. Wilson lives in Chicago but was raised in upstate New York. He spent most of his life in the Northeast and briefly lived in Poland, where he ate an unhealthy amount of pastries for six months.

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