NBA (DR)

While the 92 Dream Team will always have a special place in history, as will the American selection that participated in the Paris Olympic Games, the 2008 Redeem Team also deserves credit.

One of its members has just spoken about the Kobe Bryant / LeBron James dynamic in Beijing.

For many years, the 1992 Dream Team was considered the greatest basketball team ever assembled.

It must be said that on paper, it is difficult to find a list with 12 names more prestigious than those of Michael Jordan , Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, Karl Malone, etc.

The explosion of the NBA in the world is also their success.

But after this wonderful Parisian adventure, the 2024 team concocted by Steve Kerr also deserves consideration.

Because for the first time in their illustrious careers, LeBron James , Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, the three sacred monsters of this generation, wore the same jersey.

The adversity was stronger, and yet, they managed to win a gold medal with a special flavor.

Michael Redd reveals behind the scenes of the Redeem Team

The last contender for the title of “best Team USA all-time”, the “Redeem Team” of 2008, led by a duo composed of the King and Kobe Bryant .

Forgotten member of the selection, Michael Redd, the former triggerman of the Bucks, returned to this experience and on the dynamic that existed between the two MVPs. He spoke on the “Knuckleheads Podcast”:

In 2008 LeBron was really young. He was only 23, he was full of life, and he still is today.

He was funny, jovial… Kobe was trying to adapt to being on this team.

It was so funny to watch because both of them are leaders, they have huge personalities.

And at times LeBron was curious to understand how Kobe worked.

With Kobe and Jason Kidd, we were the old guys on the team. It was fun to see Carmelo Anthony, LeBron, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade evolve.

Kobe could be funny too, but it was LeBron who brought life to this team. They worked so well together.

There was an incredible dynamic between them.

From the outside, you might have thought that the 2008 team was Kobe Bryant’s, that he was the leader around whom everyone gravitated.

But according to Michael Redd, the Mamba needed an adaptation phase to understand his young teammates, and it was LeBron James who provided the cohesion.

Ultimately, the important thing is that they carried out their mission successfully.

LeBron James was young, full of life, and he held the locker room together in Beijing. Kobe Bryant, more composed and thoughtful, watched from a distance. And for Michael Redd, it was a perfect dynamic.