The Legacy of "Redeem Team" 2008: The United States' Men's Basketball Team

The United States' men's basketball team, otherwise known as the "Redeem Team" literally put their multimillions of money where their mouth was. When all of the world, most notably the fans and citizens said that American basketball players were selfish and anti-team-oriented losers of the recent past, the Redeem Team shut them. When all anyone could think of is a demonized version of Kobe Bryant, that same Kobe came and led the team to gold. When the American fans thought that LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade might not live up to the gold standard of winning the Olympic team, the three came out and stomped the competition (with LBJ taking a backseat and Wade dominating from the bench, a la NBA Finals MVP Wade from 2006).

In the victorious gold medal game against Spain, there looks to be some lasting effects from the tournament with several players. James, already one of the top two players in the NBA with Kobe Bryant, may really have the momentum to elevate the Cleveland Cavaliers with not only his elite passing and scoring skills, but now his commitment to defending the best player on the opposing team, something he was able to do effectively on the gold medal team. Anthony, may finally grow up and demand a greater sense of responsibility of his team and of himself after winning the gold and seeing how a real professional team makes things happens (with all respect due to his immortal NCAA title-winning team with Syracuse University). With Wade's return as an elite athlete, he looks to be completely rehabilitated from his myriad knee and shoulder injuries of 2006-2008 with the Miami Heat.

Bryant on the other hand, will most likely keep playing his game and use the victory as a motivational tool for most NBA championships in the immediate future, with Jason Kidd and his Dallas Mavericks looking to re-enter the Western Conference as a high elite team. For point guards Chris Paul and Deron Williams, the experience will probably also further fuel their desire to win big on the NBA stage and having played with the aforementioned sages in Bryant and Kidd, will no doubt raise their games to a higher maturity; but there are some other players that I hope will use their limited roles in the Olympics and still place them in context of the growing of their play in future seasons.

Dwight Howard is such where as an American big man, he did not possess the skills to shoot long-distance jump shots or play the in-vogue role of the international big man, and therefore he was a somewhat of neutral talent on the Beijing Games hardwood court. He should hope to incorporate more humility into his overall experience of playing when he continues his career with the Orlando Magic, after briefly flirting with becoming a higher scorer as opposed to really concentrating what initially helps his team wins--which is rebounding and defense, which then spurs his offense.

And though Amare Stoudemire eventually chose not to take part in the festivities and win with the American team, hopefully he sat back and watched how his former brothers played. I say this because with as much talent as he has and with his intentions to play in the Olympics being so great before deciding to rest his formerly-maligned knees, with the rumblings coming from some anonymous Phoenix Suns teammates, his silent yearning to be "The Man" maybe something that has held the team back from winning the NBA title, and with his peers (respective "Men" on their own teams) coming together to win on the world stage, hopefully he added that element of selflessness to his psyche via catharsis.

With all said, the US has reclaimed its role as the top nation in the sport of basketball, and the world will be looking to us to build off our nation's performance.