The Redeem Team doc: Netflix trailer teases Kobe’s impact
LOS ANGELES (BVM) – The hype around sports documentaries continues to roll on as Netflix braces for the upcoming release of “The Redeem Team” following the success of its “Untold” series.
The October documentary dropped its most recent trailer, which aims to tell the “untold story” of the 2008 U.S. men’s basketball team. Led by executive producers LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, the trailer focuses on sharing an inside look at the challenges it took for the U.S. to reclaim its gold medal glory.
The Redeem Team (led by Kobe Bryant @KingJames @DwyaneWade & @carmeloanthony) is the untold story of the 2008 US Men’s Olympic basketball team who had everything to lose — and everything to prove.
The Redeem Team premieres October 7 pic.twitter.com/6YPv9pihkn
— Netflix (@netflix) September 13, 2022
With questions surrounding the state of USA Basketball following a bronze medal performance in the 2004 Summer Olympics and a loss at the 2002 FIBA World Championships, the organization aimed to recover its former pedigree by launching a new plan of attack for the future. Behind the hiring of legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski from the college ranks, and Jerry Colangelo as director, USA Basketball set forth a changing direction.
With new structural changes to the team came the need for roster changes, and maybe the team’s most significant addition. Through 12 NBA seasons, Kobe Bryant had never graced an Olympic court. The All-Star guard had passed on the opportunity to join the team in 2000 when Team USA was in search of an injury replacement for Grant Hill and would go on to pass again in 2004 as he dealt with his off-court investigation.
The upcoming 2008 event became the perfect time for the newly implemented regime to recruit Bryant as Krzyzewski hoped the Los Angeles Laker star could push the uber talented team into becoming a cohesive team.
“I had a lot of concerns, that’s why we recruited Kobe Bryant,” Krzyzewski says in the trailer.
With superstars like Jason Kidd, Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter missing from the 2004 roster, Bryant’s arrival brought a change to the U.S’s most talented group since the “Dream Team” in 1992. Even though James, Wade, and Carmelo Anthony had participated in the team’s losing effort four years before, the trio had yet to establish themselves after playing just one season in the NBA. With a much different mindset for the three heading into the 2008 Summer Olympics, Bryant’s addition would prove to be just as integral in ushering in the changed mentality.
“Kobe said, ‘I’m tired of watching y’all lose,’” Anthony shares in the trailer. “I’m like, I love this energy. This is what we need.”
As the roster filled out with the NBA’s newest stars in Chirs Paul, Dwight Howard, and Chris Bosh, the 2008 team would go on to cruise past its summer competition with an 8-0 record and a +223-point differential, knocking out Spain in the gold medal game.
LeBron and Kobe were a cheat code together on Team USA 🇺🇸🔥 pic.twitter.com/t3kje5kivO
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) July 4, 2022
The dominating performance at the Beijing Olympics would lead into Bryant reclaiming his spot atop the NBA, as the Lakers went on to win two straight NBA titles in 2009 and 2010.
The Netflix documentary following the events of the famed Redeem Team airs on Oct. 7.