Latest / Bleacher Report / 2008 USA Men's National Team | 2025 Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Full Interview

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2008 USA Men's National Team | 2025 Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Full Interview · Bleacher Report

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: The members of the two thousand and eight USA Basketball's
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: men's national team here with US tonight, Carmelo Anthony, Carlos Boozer,
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Chris Buzz, Dwight Howard, Lebron, James, Jason Kidd, Chris Paul, Tay's,
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: John Prince, Michael Red, Dwayne Wade, and Darren William And
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: any tribute to this legendary team would not be complete
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: without acknowledging the late great Kobe Bryant. We miss you, Kobey.
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: And now for the coaching staff of the two thousand
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: and eight US men's national team unable to attend this evening,
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: assistant coach Nate McMillan, please welcome, assistant coaches Jim Baheim
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: and Mike d'antonia, and headed coach Mike Krzyzewski. And now
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: let's bring out the former Chairman of the Board and
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: men's National Team director, Jerry Colangelo.
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: Here they are the.
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: Two thousand and eight US men's national basketball team. Hey,
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: you know, first off, you know, Jerry, we lost one
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: of the greats in the passing of George Radmin What
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: did he mean to USA basketball in the.
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: Hall of Fame? Traveling was an incredible person. He liked
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: to be called coach, but he also was a mentor
• 2:10
  Speaker 3: to so many people. I spoke to him every every week,
• 2:14
  Speaker 3: two or three times a week. We were that close.
• 2:17
  Speaker 3: He loved the game, he loved the players. He was
• 2:22
  Speaker 3: as smart a guy as you'd ever run across. And
• 2:25
  Speaker 3: when you look at his moment in history, he died
• 2:31
  Speaker 3: at eighty eight. So he went through all of the
• 2:34
  Speaker 3: things that were happening in the world in terms of injustice,
• 2:42
  Speaker 3: and he you know, some people don't know this, but
• 2:45
  Speaker 3: when Martin Luther King gave his incredible speech in Washington,
• 2:49
  Speaker 3: d c. George Raveling was a volunteer standing at the
• 2:56
  Speaker 3: bottom of the podium and as Martin Luther King came
• 3:02
  Speaker 3: down the steps, he gave George Raveling the speech, the
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: great speech that he made. And I can't tell you
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: how many people tried to buy it from him. He
• 3:14
  Speaker 3: would never do it. That's the character that he had.
• 3:18
  Speaker 3: He always had his life in order. We lost a
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: great guy.
• 3:32
  Speaker 4: So we just set the scene him USA basketball.
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: But tell me about two thousand and five when David
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: Stern and Russ Grannick asked you to take over the
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: men's national team.
• 3:41
  Speaker 3: Well, it was a moment where I was home recuperating
• 3:44
  Speaker 3: from some major surgery and I had sold my interest
• 3:48
  Speaker 3: in the Suns, And when the phone rang, it was
• 3:52
  Speaker 3: David and asked the questions, how are you doing blah
• 3:56
  Speaker 3: blah blah, And he said, would you take all for
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: USA basketball? And I'm instinctive and I said immediately yes,
• 4:06
  Speaker 3: I'll do it. But I have two conditions.
• 4:08
  Speaker 4: So what are they.
• 4:10
  Speaker 3: I picked the coaches and I picked the players, full autonomy.
• 4:14
  Speaker 3: He says, done. What's number two? I don't want to
• 4:17
  Speaker 3: hear about a budget. He didn't like that, but I
• 4:22
  Speaker 3: assured him, don't worry. I'll raise the money anyway in
• 4:26
  Speaker 3: terms of sponsorships and so forth. And I have to
• 4:29
  Speaker 3: tell you on a personal note, those were the great
• 4:33
  Speaker 3: years in my career in representing our country and putting
• 4:38
  Speaker 3: this group together, our staff, our coaching staff, the players
• 4:42
  Speaker 3: that we were able to put together. It was a
• 4:45
  Speaker 3: fabulous time.
• 4:47
  Speaker 4: You know what was really exciting for me?
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: I remember I was very excited when you picked.
• 4:51
  Speaker 4: Coach K and Coach K.
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: I just want to know what kind of team were
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: you looking to build at that point when you came.
• 4:56
  Speaker 5: Out, Well, a team that was better than my Duke team.
• 5:02
  Speaker 5: Now we wanted these guys are amazing because we had
• 5:11
  Speaker 5: a team that was talented and had character. We didn't
• 5:15
  Speaker 5: have a team of talented characters. And they represented their country,
• 5:21
  Speaker 5: themselves and the NBA in the best possible manner. And
• 5:25
  Speaker 5: our goal was to win the gold medal, but also
• 5:28
  Speaker 5: to win the respect of our country again and also
• 5:31
  Speaker 5: the respect of the world. So how they interacted with
• 5:35
  Speaker 5: all the athletes from all over the world really set
• 5:39
  Speaker 5: the stage for what USA basketball has continued to become
• 5:44
  Speaker 5: with coach Pop and Steve Kerr coaching their teams.
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: Lebron one thing I always wanted to know, how'd you
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: feel when you found out that Kobe was going to
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: be on that team too? I mean, you're playing with
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: all these stars, but all of a sudden you had
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: a chance to have him on your team.
• 5:59
  Speaker 6: Also, I think it was just the missing link that
• 6:01
  Speaker 6: we needed in order to regain the dominance. You know,
• 6:04
  Speaker 6: with Team USA. He brought a sense for like serious
• 6:07
  Speaker 6: seriousness to the team. You know, he made us lock
• 6:09
  Speaker 6: in and we knew once he joined and he was
• 6:12
  Speaker 6: gonna be committed that you know, we couldn't be doing
• 6:15
  Speaker 6: nothing half pass cold cold wasn't going for that. So
• 6:20
  Speaker 6: it made myself c P. D Waye mellow. We all
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  Speaker 6: locked in even more because we wanted to. We wanted
• 6:25
  Speaker 6: to show him that we can get to that level
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  Speaker 6: as well. So, you know, it was just an honor
• 6:29
  Speaker 6: to be out there with him. I was twenty three
• 6:31
  Speaker 6: years old, you know, and he being out on the
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  Speaker 6: floor with him. You know, he had already won championships
• 6:37
  Speaker 6: before and things of that nature. So it was levels
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  Speaker 6: that I was trying to get to. And you know,
• 6:40
  Speaker 6: I think d Wade had already won one, and so
• 6:43
  Speaker 6: we was we just wanted to get to his level
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  Speaker 6: and make him proud. And uh, by the end of
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  Speaker 6: the by the end of that trip, we was hosting
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  Speaker 6: that gold, that cold that gold met on top of
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  Speaker 6: that that podium. We for sure made him proud for sure.
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  Speaker 7: All right.
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  Speaker 1: So now, Wayne, tell me, here's what I want to know,
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: because I've been the Olympic practices behind the curt Loo
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: was back there. Tell me about the competition on them
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: scrimmages every day. You must have really went at it
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: with this team.
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  Speaker 7: Yeah, it wasn't no fair. Really, Coach k was stacking
• 7:09
  Speaker 7: bron team him cold him cold. J KIBD Mellow Dwhite.
• 7:17
  Speaker 7: It was me Chris and and Darren Williams, c B
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  Speaker 7: Tay Shine Boos like we represented. No, it was uh,
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  Speaker 7: it was these was our guys. These were the guys.
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  Speaker 7: And you know, we knew that as the bench guys,
• 7:35
  Speaker 7: the guys that was going to come in that we
• 7:37
  Speaker 7: had to make sure that the level didn't drop. And
• 7:39
  Speaker 7: the competition was fierce every day and so you know,
• 7:42
  Speaker 7: you get this little fight. Sty point guard was.
• 7:45
  Speaker 4: Really ruined at that time. Yeah, second and m vv ready.
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  Speaker 7: So it was you know, it was what we all needed,
• 7:55
  Speaker 7: you know, we needed to you know, look at each other.
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  Speaker 7: We always very competitive. Of course we was on the
• 7:59
  Speaker 7: same team. But once them jersey flip, Let's get it,
• 8:02
  Speaker 7: let's go, and that's kind of how it was.
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: So, Chris, what do you remember most about the gold
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: medal game in Spain?
• 8:14
  Speaker 8: What do I remember most about the gold medal game?
• 8:17
  Speaker 8: Probably going into the game, how they was talking about
• 8:19
  Speaker 8: the game was gonna be covered so crazy with so
• 8:22
  Speaker 8: many fans watching. Obviously, everybody always talks about that moment
• 8:27
  Speaker 8: when Kobe ran through Palace chest. You know, ye, the
• 8:32
  Speaker 8: intensity of that game was crazy. You know, our team
• 8:35
  Speaker 8: was so talented. Everybody had accepted their roles. That's what
• 8:38
  Speaker 8: made that team so special. I learned so much that
• 8:41
  Speaker 8: year in two thousand and eight because when people think
• 8:44
  Speaker 8: about USA teams, you think about all star teams, but
• 8:47
  Speaker 8: it really has to be a team where everybody accepts
• 8:50
  Speaker 8: their roles and all that. I was my third year
• 8:52
  Speaker 8: in the league coming off the bench. You know, you're like,
• 8:54
  Speaker 8: what coming off the bench? But you're gonna come off
• 8:57
  Speaker 8: the bench with j Kidd on your team, you know, seriously,
• 9:01
  Speaker 8: but it was It was.
• 9:03
  Speaker 4: That game was intense.
• 9:05
  Speaker 8: The passion because we had lost in O six, right,
• 9:09
  Speaker 8: we had lost in O six the World Championship, So
• 9:11
  Speaker 8: every day we approached it with just a crazy mentality.
• 9:15
  Speaker 8: Like our practices. We didn't practice much in twenty twelve,
• 9:18
  Speaker 8: two thousand and eight.
• 9:18
  Speaker 7: We practiced like we practiced.
• 9:21
  Speaker 8: We competed, and I think we all made each other better.
• 9:24
  Speaker 8: You should have seen like the weight room in the morning,
• 9:26
  Speaker 8: everybody trying to see we're gonna beat the other guy
• 9:28
  Speaker 8: down there. So there's a competition, a bond that, you know.
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: I think we made.
• 9:33
  Speaker 8: That game was like none other. It was a young
• 9:36
  Speaker 8: Ricky Rubio out there talking crazy to me and d
• 9:38
  Speaker 8: Will at the time, you know what I mean. So
• 9:40
  Speaker 8: it was it was a great time. And even just
• 9:43
  Speaker 8: to watch those videos and be with all these guys.
• 9:46
  Speaker 8: It's something that you just sometimes you live life and
• 9:49
  Speaker 8: forget to remember. And I think that was that was
• 9:52
  Speaker 8: a very important role in all.
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: Of our lives, right right, Jakid, you were the You
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: were the captain.
• 9:59
  Speaker 4: So the team was loaded.
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: How did you keep everybody involved?
• 10:04
  Speaker 2: Great question. I might have been the captain, I was
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: more like the water boyd the tower by the clock.
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: I kept the clock to make sure everybody was on time,
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: no one was late. I asked everybody with gatoray color.
• 10:19
  Speaker 6: They liked, stop it, stop it, stop it.
• 10:26
  Speaker 4: So now we know who said that.
• 10:29
  Speaker 6: He's the only one that's never lost the game in
• 10:31
  Speaker 6: international play ever, ever.
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: Ever, Absolutely, you stopped it.
• 10:37
  Speaker 6: You stopped it.
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: You see this group, I'm I'm riding their coattails. When
• 10:43
  Speaker 2: Jerry called and asked me to participate. I'm always on
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: here to represent my country, but it's more to get
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: back to our younger players and to be able to
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: hang out with this group. It will be something I
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: will always remember CP and d Will being able to
• 11:00
  Speaker 2: talk to those guys because I knew I was passing
• 11:04
  Speaker 2: the torch or more the gatorade, but I was passing
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: my information. Now I was taught from GP and Stockton.
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: My job was to pass that information on to them.
• 11:13
  Speaker 2: And those guys are Hall of famers and again will
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: come in and do this individually. But again I was
• 11:20
  Speaker 2: Coach K. I was in awe of Coach k day
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: one when he kind of used some foul language, he
• 11:26
  Speaker 2: got our attention, and again our leadership from the top
• 11:33
  Speaker 2: set the tone. But it was a beautiful thing to
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: watch Kobe and Lebron battle. They battle and in practice,
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: and they set the tone every morning. I saw a
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: clip of Lebron every morning, had high energy, high energy.
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: He set the tone even though he didn't know he
• 11:48
  Speaker 2: was setting the tone. That was time to go. And
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: so it was a lot of fun.
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: It's so interesting when you have things that and players
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: at that much town. It's just wonderful to go to
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: practus every day and it all brings out the best
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: in you. It's so easy to have and it's this.
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: Whoever you threw it to was a good pass. It
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: was a great past. The only problem was they didn't
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: have enough Advil coach j K tell me about the
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: feeling when you watch when they give the gold medal
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: out at the end and you see the players standing
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: there around and you're watching in the national anthems playing
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: and they're raising the plane and you're helping the trophy.
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: That's such a wonderful emotional moment. When you and they
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: take the camera, they run by everybody's faces and I
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: always thought, what you're thinking. You got to be thinking
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: of whatever you had to climb and whatever you got
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: and you got there.
• 12:32
  Speaker 4: What kind of feeling was that for you?
• 12:34
  Speaker 5: Well, for all the coaches, the audience and and watching,
• 12:39
  Speaker 5: there's no greater thrill than to watch your team achieve
• 12:43
  Speaker 5: a championship. But this was the world championship, the Olympics.
• 12:49
  Speaker 5: To have their hands over their hearts, you could see
• 12:51
  Speaker 5: the emotion and their faces. They were pretty happy guys,
• 12:55
  Speaker 5: but they're very proud. And when our national anthem is
• 12:59
  Speaker 5: played and our flag is being raised above all the others,
• 13:03
  Speaker 5: it's the best moment of my coaching career. And I
• 13:06
  Speaker 5: want to thank you guys for giving me that moment,
• 13:10
  Speaker 5: because coaches are not able to do that, but they
• 13:13
  Speaker 5: got really good guys playing for them, those moments happen.
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: Just you know, that's fantastic and I to this has
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: been great and once again congratulations to the two thousand
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: and eight US men's national basketball team.
• 13:28
  Speaker 4: Please give him a big hand. We'll be right back.