Earlier this month, we celebrated the 30th anniversary of history’s greatest basketball team – otherwise known as the “Dream Team” – earning Olympic gold at the 1992 Barcelona games. Boasting such legendary names as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and plenty more, many have argued this lineup could never be challenged in a meaningful way. Except maybe by the 2008 US Olympic Men’s Basketball Team – or the “Redeem Team” – which is receiving its very own Netflix documentary.
With the one and only Kobe Byrant captaining this cadre of elite ballers, the Redeem Team featured LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, Chris Bosh, Carmelo Anthony, Jason Kidd, Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams, Michael Redd, as well as Tayshaun Prince. And let’s just say their campaign to victory was incredibly decisive. We’re talking cheat code level stats.
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How the Redeem Team would’ve fared in a hypothetical match-up against the Dream Team, we’ll never know. Despite how much NBA fans love to cannibalise each other over debates like this. From the eras to the individual players themselves, there are simply too many variables to account for.
What we will find out in the streaming giant’s upcoming documentary about the former, however, is as follows:
“Using unprecedented Olympic footage and behind-the-scenes material, The Redeem Team tells the story of the US Olympic Men’s Basketball Team’s quest for gold at the Olympic Games Beijing 2008 following the previous team’s shocking performance four years earlier in Athens. The documentary offers a fascinating portrait of team building and features insightful interviews with athletes and coaches from Dwyane Wade and LeBron James to Mike “Coach K” Krzyzewski, who reflect on how the Redeem Team set a new standard for American basketball.”
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Netflix’s The Redeem Team has been directed by Jon Weinbach, who produced ESPN’s The Last Dance. Weinbach, Dwayne Wade, LeBron James, and James’ business partner Maverick Carter have signed on as executive producers alongside Frank Marshall, Mike Tollin, Mark Parkman, Mary Byrne, Yiannis Exarchos, Jamal Henderson, and Philip Byron of UNINTERRUPTED.
“In 2008, I played with heroes of mine, all-stars, friends, and future teammates,” said Dwayne Wade via press statement.
“Outside of winning and showing the world that we were still the most dominant, our other big challenge was changing the perception of what everyone thought about the NBA and USA Basketball.”
“I’m excited for everyone to get an opportunity to go behind the scenes and see all the work that went into this iconic team — The Redeem Team!”
As for an official release date, The Redeem Team documentary hits Netflix on October 7th.
