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Lets have a look at the Redeem Team, the USA men’s basketball team that played at the 2008 Olympic Games

The Redeem team was the USA men’s basketball team that played at the 2008 Olympic Games. This 2008 USA basketball team was called the “Redeem Team” as a reference to the 1992 “Dream Team”.

The team was looking for redemption after bronze medal finishes at the 2004 Summer Olympics and 2006 FIBA World Championship. Kobe Bryant was named the captain of the 2008 squad and Mike Krzyzewski the Head Coach.

2008 United States men's Olympic basketball team - Wikipedia
2008 Redeem Team, Image: Wikipedia.

The roster comprised Kobe Bryant(C), LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Dwight Howard, Tayshaun Prince, Carlos Boozer, Jason Kidd, Deron Williams, Michael Redd, Chris Bosh, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul.

The redeem team won the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics and were unbeaten during the tournament. The leadership of Kobe Bryant played a big part in the team’s success. Kobe led the team with a winning mentality and put winning above everything else.

Who was the best player on the 2008 Redeem Team?

During the 2008 Olympics, Dwyane Wade led the team in scoring and averaged 16 points per game. It should be noted that the highest scorer does not mean the best player. The best player was undoubtedly Kobe Bryant who led the team with his steely resolve and winning mentality.

Bryant had just lost the NBA Finals to the Boston Celtics in 6 games. Instead of taking time off and licking his wounds, he used the loss as motivation and basically willed himself to play.

2008 U.S. Olympic Men's Basketball Team
2008 Redeem Team, Image: usab.com

Kobe then brought this attitude to the 2008 USA Basketball team and they won the Olympics. Last, Bryant successfully brought Team USA back to the global dominance they had always been known for. That makes him undoubtedly the best player for the 2008 Redeem Team.

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