Few could have imagined a triumphant sight like this to come from the U.S. basketball team after its performance in 2004. Phil Walter/getty images

Eye on the Ball: Breaking down the successful dynamics of USA Basketball's 'Redeem Team'

Date published: 8/28/2008

ONE OF THE BIGGEST stories of the Beijing Olympics (you know, aside from Michael Phelps' eight gold medals, the underage-gymnasts controversy, Jamaican track star Usain Bolt's otherworldly sprints and swimmer Jason Lezak's heroic victory from behind in the 400-meter freestyle relay) has been the play of the United States basketball team.

Ever since NBA players were first allowed to compete in the Olympics in 1992, the United States had dominated international competition in the sport. In 1992, the first "Dream Team," as it was called, won the gold medal with an average margin of victory of 43.8 points. Ten of the 12 players on the team would later be named to the NBA's 50 Greatest Players list in 1996.

USA Basketball would cruise to first-place finishes in every world championship and Olympics it entered (with the exception of the 1998 World Championship, when the NBA lockout prevented players from participating) until the 2002 International Basketball Federation World Championships, when the team finished a devastating sixth place. In the 2004 Athens Olympics, the U.S. could do no better than bronze. They also won bronze at the 2006 FIBA Worlds.

The team entered 2008 on a mission, dubbing itself the "Redeem Team." And boy, did they redeem themselves. The U.S. won every game except the final by at least 20 points. The Americans' toughest game was against Spain in the gold-medal game, which was surprising, since they had clocked them 119-82 in the preliminaries. The final was a seesaw affair, but the Americans secured a 118-107 victory. How was the U.S. able to achieve such domination? I'd attribute it to three main factors:

Date published: 8/28/2008