REDEEM TEAM: U.S. basketballers celebrate their Olympic championship at the Beijing Olympics

Kobe Bryant, the most valuable player in the 2007/8 NBA season, pointed to his U.S.A. vest in triumph as the final whistle blew on the clash with Spain. The United States ended an eight-year title drought in men's basketball on August 24, after its "Redeem Team" pipped Spain 118-107 to earn the gold at the Beijing Olympics.

The U.S. team knew they had been in a battle. "The Spanish men were incredible. They are world champions, but we came up for a big win," Bryant said.

LeBron James, the Cleveland Cavaliers' All-Star forward who finished the game with 14 points, also spoke highly of the challenge from the reigning world champions. He said, "The intensity was unbelievable. This will probably go down in history as one of the greatest Olympic games ever."

The U.S. team's win was attributed to the breathtaking performance of its all-superstar-filled lineup.

"If we didn't have great character we would not be able to beat another team that had great character. Spain was fabulous," U.S. head coach Mike Krzyzewski said.

In Beijing, Jason Kidd, the Dallas Mavericks' All-Star point guard, won his second gold medal after playing for the U.S. team at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and ran his unbeaten record in international tournaments to 56-0.

But, it was the first gold medal for every other player on the team.

Before 2004, the Americans suffered only two losses in the Olympic basketball tournament; but in 2004 in Athens, they were defeated in three matches against Puerto Rico, Lithuania and Argentina. It was the first time that the Americans failed to defend their Olympic men's basketball championship since NBA players started competing in 1992, despite the fact they had big names such as Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Tim Duncan. The bronze medal also resulted in a new nickname for James-"LeBronze."

"Going through that experience really helped me to learn the international game," Anthony said.

After the disappointing finish in Athens, the Americans realized that a hastily assembled team of NBA players cannot guarantee a victory against a finely tuned foreign team, and a deeper understanding of international play is needed.

A three-year commitment was addressed by Jerry Colangelo, Managing Director of the U.S. Men's Senior National Team Program, before the 2006 FIBA World Championships in Japan, where they suffered a shock loss to Greece in the semi-final. Building a program consisting of 33 best players from the United States, and four of the most successful coaches, Colangelo and his colleagues proceeded to create a true senior national team program.