In 2008, the ‘Redeem Team’ was tasked with returning USA Basketball back to glory after a couple of disappointing finishes in recent international tournaments, including a Bronze Medal finish in the 2004 Olympics. Legendary Duke coach Mike ‘Coach K’ Krzyzewski was put in charge of a team led by Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and other NBA stars.
Coach K is still in charge of Team USA ahead of this year’s Olympics in Rio, and following a recent practice, he spoke about Kobe’s impact and said he probably would’ve been fired if they had lost in 2008, via Lakers.