The creation story of the 2008 Redeem Team begins in the residue of the 1992 Dream Team, as does the redemption story of Kobe Bryant, who played such an important role when he later not just joined the Redeem Team but played the pivotal role of "team energizer." Hosts Jack McCallum and J.A Adande examine the young Kobe — fresh out of high school, clueless in many ways about the NBA baskeTball game — and, with a lot of Zen Master insight from guest (and winningest coach in NBA history) Phil Jackson — follow Kobe through the highs of championship glory, the painful lows of a sexual assault charge, and the dismantling of a mini-dynasty.

FROM THE EPISODE:

We asked Phil Jackson to summarize his relationship with Kobe Bryant and he made it sound like something from a work of literature:

PHIL JACKSON: I think it's almost like a Prodigal Son story. There I go into a father limination illustration. There's a conflict and there’s a willfulness and there's selfishness and there's “I could do this on my own” type of thing. And then there's a the second life or second opportunity that really brings back tenderness, yielding. It really took two of us to have that complicated relationship early on, trying to both be willful or directed, and Kobe’s was to establish himself.

His identity and maybe to establish what a team had to do to win, the direction that teams have to have: this unselfish behavior. And bending that will I think was done, sometimes, in unusual ways. Like one time, I arrived at the facility where I had a parking spot that was designated as mine, and there was Kobe’s car in my parking spot; things like that. Just to know that he was going to irritate me and me not reacting to it at all, just going on about the day, not taking on umbrage. So we forged something that was harmonious and that was one of the joys of our life. My former pal and partner Jeanie Buss says that we raised him as a son of our own.

J.A. ADANDE: So you can see why we had to clear the way for this. Much like Kobe isolating on the wing so he could go one-on-one — although I'd say Kobe's ability to steal the spotlight is part of The Lakers and the way they steal the spotlight. There's something about that franchise…

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In an often-overlooked story, the 2008 US Men's Olympic basketball team made magic. Led by two NBA superstars, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James (who many thought couldn't play together) and coached by Mike Krzyzewski (a “college guy” many first dismissed as unable to handle pro players) the US overcame the stifling embarrassment of their 2004 showing and won a decisive gold victory in 2008. Hosts Jack McCallum and J.A Adande begin a fascinating exploration of how the 2008 "Redeem Team" also succeeded in much more: it not only made the tough and fundamental move of changing a culture that had grown toxic in the years following the Dream Team’s world conquest in 1992 but also marked an historical inflection point in NBA basketball that set the stage for everything — and every superstar player — that has come since. Hear a revealing interview with current Portland Trailblazer and former Redeem Teamer, Carmelo Anthony, as well as interviews with Redeem Teamer and now assistant coach for the LA Lakers, Jason Kidd, the one and only Phil Jackson of numerous Chicago Bulls and LA Lakers NBA victories, and Coach K himself, Mike Krzyzewski.

FROM THE EPISODE:

JACK MCCALLUM: I’m Jack McCallum, who brought you The Dream Team Tapes podcast and this is its worthy sequel. The story of The Redeem Team — sometimes overlooked — is, on its own, in my opinion, every bit as intriguing as the Dream Team that proceeded them by 16 years. One of the things I've found out by doing The Dream Team Tapes is how eager these guys were to talk about it. For even guys that were All-Stars, Hall of Famers, won championships, it was a really special time in their lives. Which is why I was able to get inside the heads of players like Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson.

In the same way, The Redeem Team defines a lot of these guys' careers. In the coming weeks you're going to be hearing from the players, the coaches, and the executives who were so eager to share their thoughts on what was an important part in their lives. So here's a quick snapshot of some of those voices you'll be hearing:

ROBERT HORRY: We understood the pecking order. We knew Kobe and LeBron were going to shoot the ball or, more or less, Kobe was going to shoot the ball.

JASON KIDD: I’ve never said this, but I remember sitting there and watching those guys. When we were in harmony, you can't play better than this

COACH K: The most pressure moment I've ever had as a coach was the gold medal game with eight minutes to go.

JACK MCCALLUM: The year is 2008: The Games of the 29th Olympiad. An American basketball team — an American basketball program, really — bent on turning around its diminished fortunes, which included a 6th place finish in the 2002 World Championships and even worse, a mere Bronze Medal in the 2004 Olympics in Athens. The United States team was on a mission. There was magic in the air.

Actually there was smog in the air. Hey, we're in Beijing after all, but this 2008 team turned out to be a breath of fresh air for our Olympic program. But it wasn't easy.

I'll be joined by J.A. Adande, who himself was heard recently talking about a Dream Teamer, somebody named Michael Jordan, in the terrific, “Beyond the Last Dance” that he did with B.J. Armstrong, a former teammate of Jordan's...

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Get a preview of Season 2 of the #1 New Sports Podcast of 2020. Sports journalist vets Jack McCallum and J.A. Adande take listeners through an insider's study of the 2008 US Olympic Men's Basketball Team and the legendary players that defined a new generation of NBA basketball, including Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Jason Kidd. Season 2 features guests including Carmelo Anthony, Phil Jackson, Chris Bosh, Robert Horry, Jerry Colangelo, Deron Williams, Mike Krzyzewski and many more, bringing you an epic examination in athletic challenge, transformation, and ultimate victory. 

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If you loved The Dream Team Tapes, check out another original sports podcast from Diversion Podcasts and iHeartRadio. This is Episode 1 of "The GOAT: Tom Brady," which takes a look back at the career of Tom Brady and his unparalleled success with the New England Patriots at a moment when all fans are watching his second life on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Veteran sports journalist Gary Myers is our host, bringing you the definitive account of the most illustrious career in NFL history. Like The Dream Team Tapes, you'll get never-before-heard interviews, this time with the voices of Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Bledsoe, and more.

▶️ Diversion brings real stories to life: DiversionPodcasts.com

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In 2007, NBA referee Tim Donaghy was arrested for betting on games he officiated. It was the biggest scandal in American sports history, but it quickly faded from the headlines. Why? Because everyone in this scandal has something to hide. This isn't a story about basketball - it's a story about money, and a conspiracy that spans far beyond one referee. Sports journalist Tim Livingston takes you inside his eight-year odyssey to find the truth at the heart of the scandal.

Available now from Tenderfoot TV, this is Whistleblower. For more info visit www.whistleblowerpod.com or https://apple.co/whistleblower.

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Some of the Dream died quickly. Larry Bird retired right away. Magic’s HIV became big news again, a year later, Michael was gone…to baseball, after one of sports history’s most mysterious retirements. But what remains is the Dream Team’s enduring legacy, one many did not see while they were beating teams by fifty points. Their participation in the Olympic did exactly what Boris Stankovic said it would do—it grew the game around the world. The course that the NBA is on right now, as the most international of all sports, was set in that fateful year of 1992. 

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The Dream Team reaches Barcelona and the circus never stops, featuring: The Charles Barkley elbow. The internecine battles between USA Basketball and USOC. The famous “Kukoc Game” in which Jordan and Scottie Pippen made life miserable for the Croatian and would-be Bull. The non-stop life force that was Jordan, and, most of all, the all-galactic level of behind-the-scenes trash talking that went on when the team got together in what the author calls “The Coolest Room in the world.” Oh, yes, the U.S. also won the gold medal and managed to stir up controversy on the podium.

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Ever since the book Dream Team was released in 2012, fans have been curious about the intrasquad scrimmage the Dream Teamers played in Monte Carlo, a few days before the Olympics began in Barcelona. “The Greatest Game Nobody Ever Saw” is what McCallum called that chapter in his book … even though he did see it on film. McCallum breaks it down, along with the phenomenon of the world’s most famous team hanging out in the world’s most famous playground. Hint: Money exchanged hands.

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It was a feeling like no other when the Dream Teamers took the court for a real game in the qualifying tournament in Portland. Hearts stopped when they first ran onto the court together—and, as a matter of fact, so did warm-ups, as the Dream Team competitors ceased layup drills to take photos. The Dreamers were excited to be playing with each other, and it showed in the wonderfully cohesive brand of basketball that they played. But a whole netherworld of tangled business relationships took some joy out of the experience, most demonstrably for Michael Jordan.

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Barely two months after most of the Dream Team roster was announced, Magic Johnson seemed like he would have to drop out. The jaw-dropping news of Magic’s HIV diagnosis, the gradual resumption of his rightful place on the team, and some of the attendant controversies. Who was the real leader of the Dream Team? Magic? Bird? Or the team’s transcendent player, Michael Jordan? Look no further for the answers.

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