2008 United States men's Olympic basketball team

The 2008 Olympics U.S. Men's Basketball Team represented the United States of America at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. They qualified for the Olympics by winning the FIBA American Championships 2007 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 a disappointing Bronze Medal during the 2004 Summer Olympics at Athens, Greece. LeBron James, often named the vocal leader of the United States stated in a feature with TIME magazine: "It's the gold, or it's failure."[1]

The United States, with eleven NBA All-Stars, a Hall of Fame coach, and a NBA MVP, ultimately accomplished their goal. They defeated Spain 118-107 to accomplish their expectation of winning the tournament.

Roster

The following is the United States roster in the men's basketball tournament of the 2008 Summer Olympics.[2]

United States men's national basketball team – 2008 Summer Olympics roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Age – Date of birth Ht. Club Ctr.
F/C 4 Boozer, Carlos 26 – November 20, 1981 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) Utah Jazz United States
PG 5 Kidd, Jason 35 – March 23, 1973 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Dallas Mavericks United States
SF 6 James, LeBron 23 – December 30, 1984 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) Cleveland Cavaliers United States
PG 7 Williams, Deron 24 – March 24, 1984 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Utah Jazz United States
SG 8 Redd, Michael 28 – August 24, 1979 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) Milwaukee Bucks United States
SG 9 Wade, Dwyane 26 – January 17, 1982 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Miami Heat United States
SG 10 Bryant, Kobe (C) 29 – August 23, 1978 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) Los Angeles Lakers United States
F/C 11 Howard, Dwight 22 – December 8, 1985 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) Orlando Magic United States
F/C 12 Bosh, Chris 24 – March 24, 1984 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) Toronto Raptors Canada
PG 13 Paul, Chris 23 – May 6, 1985 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) New Orleans Hornets United States
SF 14 Prince, Tayshaun 28 – February 28, 1980 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) Detroit Pistons United States
SF 15 Anthony, Carmelo 24 – May 29, 1984 6 ft 8 in (2.03 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

See also

References

  1. Sean Gregory. "1. LeBron James - 100 Olympic Athletes To Watch". Time Magazine. Archived from the original on 29 December 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-08.
  2. "2008 Olympic Basketball Men (FIBA) – United States roster". FIBA. Retrieved 10 October 2012.

External links

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