U.S. Olympic Basketball Team Routs Host China in Spectacle

The US Olympic Basketball Team took on host China at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and easily coasted to a 101-70 victory in the opening basketball game. Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, and Dwayne Wade put on a dunking exhibition that had the home crowd signaling their approval even while the home team was getting humiliated. Everyone in the crowd got their money's worth, even president Bush, as the "Redeem Team" won their first game in search of the gold medal.

Dwayne Wade led Team USA scoring with 19 points. Lebron James had 18. Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard both had 13.

Kobe Bryant had five dunks during the game. Bryant told the Associated Press that he hasn't had five dunks in a single game since he was a teenager. He said the crowd's energy caused the dunkfest.

Yao Ming, who played for China, scored the first basket of the game, a three-pointer.

"Redeem Team"?

The 2008 US Olympic Basketball Team has been dubbed the "Redeem Team." With all the medal glory surrounding past United States Olympic Basketball Teams, including the Dream Team of , one might wonder what it is that they have to redeem.

But the United States lost the gold in the 2004 Athens Olympics. Argentina shocked the United States in the semifinals, handing the United States a loss, 89-81. The United States won the bronze medal against Lithuania while Argentina went on to take the gold against Italy.

"The Second Coming"

The Redeem Team has been hailed as "the Second Coming" of the Dream Team, the nickname given the 1992 US Olympic Basketball Team that included all-stars Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, "Magic" Johnson, Karl Malone, Clyde Drexler, Charles Barkley, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, among others. That team took the gold at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

The redeem team roster also looks like a who's who of NBA basketball all-stars. The team consists of:

Lebron James
Jason Kidd
Kobe Bryant
Carmelo Anthony
Dwight Howard
Dwayne Wade
Chris Paul
Carlos Boozer
Tayshaun Prince
Michael Redd
Chris Bosh
Deron Williams

The head coach is Duke University's Mike Kryzewski.

If ever there was a team that could bring back the gold to the United States, the Redeem Team is it.

The US Against The World

The US Olympic Basketball Team has only lost the gold medal in three Olympics since basketball was added to the Games in 1936. They lost to the Soviet Union in the one of the most controversial games in basketball history in 1972 to take home the silver. They would lose to the Soviet Union again in the semi-finals in 1988 and go on to take the bronze medal by defeating Australia. The Soviet Union went on to win the gold. Team USA would lose again in Athens in 2004.

But that is all behind Team USA. They are looking ahead to the gold in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and putting the United States back on top of the international basketball scene. Their next game will be against Angola. China's woes may not yet be over. They play the World Champions, Spain, next.

Sources:

Brian Mahoney, "US beats China 101-70 in Olympic opener," Associated Press

Erik Matuszewski, "U.S. Beats China, Yao in Olympic Basketball Opener in Beijing," Bloomberg.com

Wikipedia.org