NBA Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade shared unknown details about his time with the 2008 “Redeem Team” that traveled to Beijing to avenge the failures Team USA suffered in 2004 and 2006.
Wade was joined by a series of incredible players and future legends, including Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James and Dwight Howard, to name a few. The competition was fierce within that team, which helped them go 8-0 and bring the gold medal back to the State.
College basketball legend Mike Krzyzewski led that team to the promised land, while carrying a lot of pressure following to big disappointments in the prior Olympics and the most recent FIBA World Cup. The addition of Bryant gave that team the extra edge they needed to dominate their opponents again.
Dwyane Wade speaks on Coach K’s rotations during 2008 Olympics
Standing on the Hall of Fame stage, Wade talked about Coach K’s rotations, implying that he wasn’t so happy with his limited time.
“Coach K was stacking Bron, him, Kobe, J-Kidd, Melo, Dwight. It was me, Chris, and Deron Williams, CP, Tayshaun, Booz [Carlos Boozer] — like, we represented,” Wade said.
He admitted that he knew the standard and what was expected from him and the rest of the second unit, which is why he was always ready to deliver.
“No, it was, uh, it was — these were our guys, these were the guys. And, you know, we knew that as the bench guys, the ones coming in, we had to make sure the level didn’t drop. The competition was fierce every day,” he added.
Wade finished that tournament averaging 16 points per game, while shooting 67.1% from the floor and 47.1% from deep. Team USA beat Spain in the gold-medal game to reclaim its throne in international basketball.