-[Kobe] What's up? How you feeling? -[LeBron] Chillin'. What's going on?
[man 1] Bron, you're on that side of the couch.
-[man 2] Bron right here. -[LeBron] Okay.
-[man 1] Yeah. -Bron right here, Kobe on that corner.
[interviewer] All right, Kobe. So you won the gold.
Where would this stack up?
[Kobe] Well, it's a higher priority. You're representing your country,
and you're competing against basketball players
who are the best in their country.
To me, that holds a greater significance.
[interviewer] When did it sink in this is something much bigger than yourself?
You know, it's, uh… to me, it's just walking around every day.
Just, you know, whether I'm going to the grocery store
or going to pick up coffee or whatever it is,
people just coming on the street and just saying, "Bring back the gold."
You see a guy with a Celtics jersey at Disneyland, I'm ready to kill him.
'Cause he's wearing a Garnett jersey, you know, I'm pissed.
I'm thinking he going to say something smart about the Finals.
"Bring back the gold for us."
Enough said.
Enough said. Bring back the gold.
[intense music playing]
[fireworks whistling]
[sportscaster] Welcome to Beijing,
the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Summer Games.
[intense music continues]
The moment has arrived.
[performers cheering]
[sportscaster] And the focus of China and the world
is on the National Stadium.
[all banging in unison]
If you follow basketball, then you know the nickname of this year's squad.
The Redeem Team.
[sportscaster] They've been dubbed the Redeem Team.
[reporter] The Redeem Team.
The Redeem Team, because of the past failures internationally.
[all shouting]
[reporter 2] There's a new era in Olympic basketball,
and it's one in which the United States is no longer dominant.
[coach] The money and the greed of the NBA,
is that having an effect upon our competitive nature?
Yeah. You could write that.
We'd lost respect internationally. We had lost respect for ourselves.
[reporter 3] Melo, what happened out there?
I don't know. I wasn't out there.
There was a snowball effect of just negativity.
[journalist] Into this mess,
they all brought their own individual stories.
[journalist 2] Kobe was keeping to himself.
He never seemed to find any common ground.
[LeBron] I felt like I was the best basketball player in the world,
but I still hadn't proven enough.
[reporter 4] There's a ghost haunting every play.
The ghost of defeat.
There was a hunger about that '08 team. There was a hunger.
[Dwyane] We had a lot of things that we needed to show the world.
And it wasn't just basketball.
[intense music fades]
[flashbulb clicks]
[dramatic music playing]
[man] Get out there, Mike!
[man 2] Okay! [grunts]
This is the most important thing that we will ever do as coaches.
The thing that I've learned over the last two years
is what great heart and courage all of you guys have.
This team has been put together to win internationally.
We have the three best point guards in the world.
You have Dwyane,
Carmelo, LeBron,
and Kobe.
This team has 12 guys
who can fucking win an Olympic championship,
and you don't know which one of you is gonna be called upon
at a moment to play a significant role in a huge win.
[players shouting, grunting]
[man] I got you outside!
[journalist] A lot of them were not known as great team players.
Kobe was individual.
LeBron still hadn't proven himself to anybody as being any kind of a leader.
All run by a coach who was from the army.
And it was the challenge of their lives.
[clapping]
Way to run the floor, boy!
How are we gonna win? What are we gonna win?
What are we gonna establish?
Is it just to qualify for the fucking Olympics?
If that's the only reason we're here, that's too shallow.
[Carmelo] Mind you, from '04 to that point,
we was losing.
Team USA Basketball was at the bottom.
[coach] When you're on the US team, you're supposed to win all the time.
You're supposed to be perfect.
These guys were not.
["Make the Road by Walking" by Menahan Street Band playing]
[sportscaster] The scoreboard tells the story in a nutshell.
USA 89, Russia 55.
And America holds the world championship of basketball.
[crowd cheering]
[announcer] Gold medalists,
the United States of America.
[announcer 2] The United States of America.
[announcer 3] The United States capture another championship
without loss of a game.
[journalist] Basketball at the Olympics, the gold medal was America's to lose.
It was news if it was even a close game.
[journalist 2] US basketball always was so dominant,
and we had the big stars of the game.
But, you know, also we came to the notion,
"Just because we're Americans, we're better."
You know, if you were from Europe or South America,
well, you couldn't be as good 'cause you weren't American.
And that wasn't true.
They had the same ability to… to gain expertise in basketball that we did.
[intriguing music playing]
[sportscaster] Welcome to the semifinals.
It's the United States and the Soviet Union.
The drama beginning to build.
[sportscaster 2] We're underway!
Last time they played was 16 years ago in Munich.
The only time the American team has ever lost an Olympic basketball game.
People in the USA, sports fans, we took it for granted.
"When it comes to the Olympics, it's our game."
"We invented it. We're gonna win. It doesn't matter who shows up."
That's what we thought.
[sportscaster 2] Coles… tough defense. Sabonis rips down another…
It's a two-on-one break. Marčiulionis…
And that should do it for the Soviets.
[crowd cheering]
The United States goes home stunned.
[reporter] How big a win was it?
US came into this game with an 84 and 1 Olympic record overall,
having won nine of ten gold medals.
Bottom line may have been the Soviet experience,
which, uh, may accelerate the push in the United States
to allow NBA pros to compete in the Olympics.
[Smith] American USA Basketball starts to panic
and says, "You know, we got to put together something
that represents American basketball."
And so who shows up in 1992?
["Higher Baby" by DJ Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince playing]
[announcer] Ladies and gentlemen, the US Olympic Dream Team.
♪ Boom in your face Now take that ♪
♪ Get on track Or you best step back… ♪
[sportscaster] This group may well be the greatest team ever assembled
in the history of team sports.
[crowd cheering]
You know, when your opposition is asking for autographs before the game,
you've got a little bit of an edge on them.
They did the best they could, but they were totally overwhelmed.
[crowd cheering]
[Colangelo] It brought back a little bit of glory for the USA.
♪ O say, does that star-spangled banner… ♪
But, you know, the Dream Team wasn't about patriotism.
[solemn music playing]
It wasn't doing it for America. It's really, "Do it for the NBA."
[crowd cheering, whistling]
[reporter] This, of course, is the Dream Team,
whose declared purpose is to win back US basketball honor.
But it's here for another purpose as well. It's taking care of business.
We think we have a great American product, and we would like to market it
on a global basis with as much, uh, class and success as we possibly can.
[solemn music continues]
[reporter 2] This team of All-Stars is almost too good.
Some think we should go back to the collegiates. It's been too easy.
I think then we ought to ban the African runners
from the 10,000 meters, because they make it look so easy as well.
-[reporter 2 laughs] -This is about our best.
This is wonderful for the sport of basketball.
[solemn music fades]
With the ninth pick in the 1998 NBA Draft,
the Milwaukee Bucks select
Dirk Nowitzki from Würzburg, Germany.
The San Antonio Spurs select
Emanuel Ginóbili from Argentina.
The Atlanta Hawks select
Pau Gasol
from FC Barcelona, Spain.
[crowd cheering]
[coach] Basketball took off to another level after that worldwide.
The international game was improving by leaps and bounds.
It was a jolt.
This next wave that comes along, inspired by the Dream Team,
they were more competitive, and they were a greater threat to USA Basketball.
'92, it was introduced as a global game,
but the game was starting to catch up to us.
We talk about these different countries,
they have talented basketball players who have been taught the fundamentals.
-[grunting] -[crowd cheering]
Now, the world is not afraid. The scare factor was gone.
[crowd cheering]
[helicopter blades whirring]
[George W. Bush] My fellow citizens, at this hour,
American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations
to disarm Iraq, to free its people,
and to defend the world from grave danger.
And now to the upcoming Olympic Games in Greece,
where fear of terrorism has left the lineup
for America's men's basketball team up in the air.
Big-name NBA stars routinely lend their talent to take home the gold,
but this time, some are saying no.
[reporter] When it comes to excuses, coach Larry Brown has heard them all.
Jason Kidd has a sore knee.
Shaquille O'Neal says he's waiting to see
how far the Lakers advance in the playoffs.
[Adande] If you look at the environment hovering over the 2004 Olympics,
that was the first Summer Games after 9/11,
and with the invasion of Iraq,
now there's this sense that America is acting unilaterally
and is starting to become an unwelcome guest around the world.
So there were legitimate safety and security concerns.
And all these players who had already participated
in '96 and 2000
didn't feel the need to go back and do that again.
I remember watching it via TV,
and you just see some of the players not wanna go.
It just became this epidemic.
The NBA put a lot of pressure on in terms of adding some future stars.
Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, and LeBron James.
[LeBron] I didn't think I earned an opportunity to be on that team.
You know, literally, this is the summer right after my rookie year,
and all I'm thinking about is hanging out with my friends,
hanging out with my family, and training.
[Dwyane] I just finished my rookie season,
and I'm in summertime in Chicago, hanging with my family,
and I get a call asking me to be a part of the Olympic team,
and I'm like… "What?" [chuckles]
["Titles" by Jon Brion playing]
[Carmelo] Nine guys drop out.
So they had to fill those spots, and we got the call,
like, "Would y'all want to be a part of this USA Team?"
I'm like, "Hell, yeah." Like, "C'mon, let's do it."
["Titles" continues]
[Dwyane] "Oh my God, they asked me to be a part of something
that I remember being so incredible with the Dream Team."
"Sign me up."
But mind you, we got the call saying, "If y'all want to play,
y'all gotta meet us in Jacksonville in two weeks."
We didn't know what to expect. Everybody had backed out.
This was going to be our moment to go over there
and get, you know, a gold medal.
[dramatic music playing]
I remember going to Jacksonville, seeing the US team.
It was separated. It was like two different teams.
Like, you had AI and Marbury, Tim Duncan.
And then you had the younger guys,
the rookies who was just… who was coming into the league.
[LeBron] You look at all the younger crew, you know, myself and Melo, D Wade,
you know, we just trying to figure out, like, how do we fit into this?
We're young. We up and down, dunks, lobs, this and that.
[upbeat music playing]
[exclaims]
It was a disconnect between both groups.
It was like, "Oh, we have this young group of guys that's coming on board."
Then you had the older guys, just like,
"This is our shit. We gotta make this work."
And then you just had
Larry Brown.
We've played a certain way for the last five or six years.
All right? We gotta… we gotta change right now.
We had a group of guys that…
I think Coach was trying to prove a point with the Olympics,
that he could get all of us to play "the right way," which was "his way."
We're ready to take the roll.
You go screen…
This has become a world sport.
We better respect the people we play, or we're gonna be in trouble.
[reporter] Do you have a sense that people are saying,
"Well, this might be the team that can't win the gold"?
We got a lot of doubters out there for the simple fact we're a young team.
I don't think a lot of people think that young players could do it.
So we gotta prove ourselves.
[dramatic music playing]
The Olympic Games are here in Greece, which one local official described
as "a convenient intersection in a bad neighborhood."
[newscaster] The players and their families will stay
on a cruise ship off the Greek coast
while being protected by Greek and American authorities
during the Games.
[Carlos] We're not in the Olympic Village. We're not by the Olympians.
It didn't really feel like we're a part of the Olympic experience.
[sportscaster] It starts with Puerto Rico.
Will the United States men win another gold medal?
Will they suffer a loss for the first time
in Olympic play since NBA players were allowed to compete?
Those questions will be answered with this game.
[Dwyane] If you look at the names on the team, you're like,
"We g… we good. Let's go do this."
[intense music playing]
[announcer] Iverson to Marion!
[whistle blowing]
Not only America thought we're gonna win, we weren't paying attention,
we thought we're gonna win so much.
[announcer] …pick-and-roll, Puerto Rico.
Nice feed inside!
And Puerto Rico opens up a nine-point lead.
Most of the reporters were at other venues.
We were covering skeet shooting and track and field and swimming.
Nobody was even paying attention.
[announcer] Carmelo Anthony.
Beautiful save by Ayuso.
Carlos Arroyo-- Oh, what a ball fake!
[man] I remember the game against Puerto Rico.
I remember Mike Breen and I, we were doing the game.
And we looked at each other, and we go, "Uh-oh, this team is in trouble."
[announcer] Arroyo draws the foul. And one!
We didn't take Puerto Rico with the respect they deserved,
and they, uh… they kicked our ass.
[announcer] It's finally happened.
The United States loses in Olympic play with NBA players.
But that first game against Puerto Rico really let us know, like,
"Damn, like, okay, we… we fucking around."
"We… we gotta get our shit together."
Lots of people are talking about the American men's basketball team.
It was, by any stretch of the imagination, a complete upset and an embarrassment.
They were called the "Dream Team,"
but now some people are calling them the "Cream Team."
The younger guys, we were pissed at Larry Brown,
because he didn't play us.
[reporter] Melo, what happened out there, you think?
I don't know. I wasn't out there. I don't think…
They scored more points than us. That's all I can say.
We thought, "We should be playing because we could help this team win."
But Larry Brown didn't…
He didn't think that we could as much as the veteran guys.
-[man] They can still win. -They can still win.
-That's what I was looking for. -It's a round-robin event.
-It's conceivable they could win gold. -Right.
[sportscaster] We're going to bring you
live coverage of the United States and Argentina.
The spot in tomorrow's gold medal game on the line.
You can tell immediately that they had this chemistry.
[announcer] Argentina has such open looks. They pass the ball so well.
[announcer 2] There's Sánchez spotting up and shooting the three.
They was more cohesive. They was more running plays.
They was running sets.
[announcer] Ginóbili, wide-open three.
[crowd cheering]
You could tell they had spent real time,
like years and years playing with each other.
[announcer 2] Count it, and a foul!
They could pass the ball right here and know that the guy is cutting.
[announcer] Ginóbili.
Sánchez threads the needle to Oberto.
They just had the chemistry. They had the teamwork.
They had the camaraderie. They had everything out on the floor.
I mean, they just…
they played the game how the game's supposed to be played.
[announcer] Sconochini, fancy to Montecchia.
Oh, what a fancy play.
There'll be no gold in Athens.
And there's the exclamation point.
The United States men fail to win it all at the Olympic Games.
It was ugly to watch.
It was terrible to watch and terrible to be a part of.
[announcer] They might be starting to say there's a new era in Olympic basketball,
and it's one in which the United States is no longer dominant.
They're great players. They're the best team.
In terms of individual players, they're the best.
But this is a team sport. So you play five-on-five.
You don't play one-on-one. It's not tennis.
[Carmelo] We was just a whole bunch of… kind of just bullshit thrown together
and said, "Go out there and… and… and win us a gold medal."
There was no culture with Team USA.
There was no culture at all.
[announcer] The United States set to receive their bronze medals.
You can see from their body language,
they're disappointed.
Well, I'm watching it here in Durham, North Carolina,
and, uh… agonizing.
[announcer 2] And you see the joy in Argentina.
[crowd cheering]
[Krzyzewski] The other countries don't take anything for granted.
They have a national team.
Argentina,
those guys were together since they were 18 years old.
They're brothers.
[crowd cheering, whistling]
[LeBron] There wasn't a lot of time.
We had to figure out how to become a team in two weeks.
I was young, but I understood
what it meant to build chemistry in order to win.
[Krzyzewski] We had it with the Dream Team,
and then there was no continuity after that.
["Argentine National Anthem" playing]
[crowd whistling]
[crowd cheering]
[Carmelo] Coming back home
and the disrespect that we were getting from our own country.
There were songs about us. Everybody was talking about us.
["Why (Remix)" by Jadakiss playing]
♪ Why Team USA keep gettin' blown out? ♪
You know, "These players suck," and, "The rest of the world's caught up."
"How do you lose to Puerto Rico?"
Finally, these men,
A, are on line to buy tickets, B, have traveled far to see the games,
C, just defeated the United States Men's Basketball Team.
[audience laughing]
It was just a snowball effect of… of just negativity.
[announcer] The United States men settle for the bronze.
I'm sitting up on the podium, you know, receiving the bronze like,
"This shit was a waste of my time."
At that moment, I definitely wasn't playing
for Team USA again.
Still stinging from their bronze-medal showing
in Athens last summer,
USA Basketball has revamped itself and has turned over power
to Jerry Colangelo.
[sportscaster] Almost everything Jerry Colangelo touches works.
Particularly start-up projects.
He was involved with a start-up project that became the Chicago Bulls in 1966.
He then went out west to Arizona,
and he started up three out of the four teams out there.
[Colangelo] Back in early 2004,
my net worth was really wrapped up in the Phoenix Suns.
So I decided to sell the team.
I knew it was gonna leave some kind of a void.
And I said, "You know, what's next?"
It was just a couple of weeks later when I got that call about USA Basketball.
You know, I basically said, "I… I'll do it. I'll do it."
"But no more committees."
"I'll pick the coaches. I'll pick the players."
Colangelo will pick them without a committee.
-You don't think that's too much power? -[sportscaster] Probably.
-This guy gets it done. -You trust him?
I do. I do trust him.
I had some names up on a board of… of coaches.
Let's talk about coaches.
Dean Smith, from North Carolina, obviously, said,
"There's only one coach who could get the job done,
who has the respect of all the players."
"He stands alone. He's the only one."
It was Coach K at Duke.
[announcer] The Duke of Destiny has won it!
For the first time in two decades, college basketball has a repeat champion.
[upbeat music playing]
[Carlos] It's like the Yankees. Either you love 'em or you hate 'em.
That's how Duke was because of the success.
Growing up in the inner city, you hate Duke.
You just hate Duke. You hate Christian Laettner.
You hate JJ Redick.
You hate Coach K.
You hate the damn Blue Devil.
There was no, like… excitement
when Coach K was, uh, appointed that position with Team USA.
[Carmelo] When they announced that he was coming on,
our first thought was, like,
"Yo, how is he going to handle all these players
that's on this team as a college coach?"
I had a lot of concerns. One is just the credibility
that I would have with the NBA players.
Obviously, I had achieved a lot in the collegiate ranks,
but NBA's different.
The thing that changed right away was that you weren't gonna be the Olympic coach.
You were gonna be the national coach.
That was a step of trying to have one coach have a four-year period
where they were running a program.
You have to put a team together. It can't be fantasy basketball.
It can be All-Stars, but they have to fit roles.
[LeBron] Coach K and Jerry, they stressed that from the beginning.
It needed to be a commitment where you really took it serious
and not just some old one-off.
If you want to be a part of this, you have to commit,
you know, three summers, right away.
[rock music playing]
-What's up? -What's up, man?
Guys seem in a good mood.
-What's up? What's going on? -Is that what you want?
[Krzyzewski] Good seeing you.
[Carlos] Our whole team met in Vegas for a training camp,
and in the very first meeting, Coach K says,
"This is not our game."
"This is the world's game."
[Carmelo] I remember he was mad. He was livid about that.
Like, we got to respect everybody in the rest of the world.
From day one, he established himself as that guy.
Like, "Listen, I'm not here to tell you guys what to do."
"You guys are professionals, but this is a working relationship."
"I want y'all to talk to me. I want to be open. I want to be honest."
[Krzyzewski] What you have to understand, in order to win a fight,
you have to know who you're fighting.
You're fighting somebody who thinks that they're Superman.
They have nothing to lose.
From the get-go, the pressure was on. We lost last time.
We're supposed to be the best in the world.
So with the national team concept, if you're not coming in
and taking it seriously, you won't last.
[intense music playing]
After we lost '04, we all felt like we were letting USA Basketball down,
especially us four guys.
You know, myself, D Wade, Bron, and Melo,
we were a part of that team, and we felt that agony of defeat.
[Dwyane] I think early on, it was looked at as,
"International players are soft, right?"
"American players are tough."
Once you start looking at it, you're like, "No, they're not soft."
"They're skilled. They play the game a different way."
We have to learn their game and quit making excuses
and quit trying to impose our game on theirs.
If we learn their game, we will beat them.
You all and I don't know everything.
We especially don't know what each other knows.
That's what practice is about, is all getting on the same page.
[LeBron] The first thing that surprised me about Coach K
was that he didn't give a fuck about nobody's résumé,
but he always did it with respect.
I've always gotten the best out of myself
playing for someone that holds everybody accountable.
-Coming left! Coming left! -[player] Get up there! Yep! Yep!
This is the way we play on the US team.
No matter who is playing on it, who's coaching it or whatever.
This is the way the United States team should play.
Good, good.
He was the one who told us, "Hey, I don't want y'all to not come in here
with y'all egos and y'all pride. That's who make y'all who y'all are."
You have to give me the egos that you have
in your current basketball teams.
Bring 'em to this team.
Okay? And put it under one ego umbrella.
[Dwyane] I remember sitting there watching and hearing him say that.
I was like, "That makes sense."
Get up, Brad. Get up, Brad.
Uh-huh. Right there.
[Krzyzewski] The thing I'm most surprised about
is how well you talk to one another.
You guys are interacting well in between drills.
There's a really good spirit that needs to be developed.
You got it. Just keep developing.
Two times!
[players exclaiming]
[Chris Paul] Trials was crazy.
We stayed at the Wynn in Vegas for like a month.
We lived in Vegas for like a month.
That's when a lot of the relationships that you see were sort of forged.
[indistinct chattering]
I got no say on the bus!
Get on the bus!
[man] Grab the bags, man!
[Chris Paul] I can't get on.
I can't get on!
There was a group of us that played cards every single night for 35 straight days.
You know, 35 days, you're gone from your family,
but you're able to, um… you know, it's another family.
It's like another part of your family. It's like I never left home.
-You feel me? -I'm the best-looking one of the crew.
So you know, it… it's… you know,
they like my bodyguards, you know what I'm saying? [laughs]
[Carmelo] No. No. [laughs]
I would rather you say, "I got a ring," than just say what you just said.
[all laughing]
Know what I'm saying?
[Krzyzewski] Listen, for all you guys, and it's important.
I really want you to pay close attention.
This morning, we have people who represent us,
and… people don't get a chance to look up to 'em.
You don't even know what… what they… what they do.
[Carmelo] Coach K is a motivator,
and that's what he did.
Each day, we had a different person come in there, talk to us.
[Krzyzewski] There's no more important thing
we're gonna do today than listen
to what these heroes have to say to us.
[man] Coach K being a West Point grad, he loves his country.
He loves serving his country.
So much of what he talked about,
there were always so many parallels to his time in the military.
So that ran deep with him.
Let's face it. It's what makes teams great, is selfless service.
It's putting the needs of someone else before yourself.
On the basketball court,
that may be diving for the loose ball or taking a charge.
On the battlefield, it may be running into a… a… a wall of bullets.
Putting your life on the line for someone else,
and… and that… to that level of selfless service.
[Carlos] When you're a great player, you think you can do it by yourself.
I can win by myself. I can score enough points. Whatever.
With Coach K, what he wants to do is, you can do it,
but you can achieve more with a group than you can individually.
It's a military mindset.
[Brown] An explosion went off, and a piece of shrapnel came
and hit him in the eyes.
It looks like, uh, his eyes are normal.
He does not have any eyes. They were taken out
by that shrapnel that went through his head.
[somber music playing]
And he's still serving.
That's a hero.
It definitely hit me in my emotions.
They showed us who and what we were playing for.
These are the flags we wore on our uniforms in Iraq,
and, uh, we got a flag for each one of you.
I'm hoping they can put it on your warm-up jerseys.
And what I'm hoping is that you'll look down,
you'll see that flag,
and you'll realize thousands of people have gone before you and sacrificed
so you can be a great basketball player.
[somber music continues]
[Dwyane] Scotty, you hear me?
[Carmelo] We would be mic'd up.
We would say little things to him in the mic and talk to him from the court.
Blue is getting into us right now.
So White Team, we gotta pick it up as a team.
They're playing better than us.
[players chattering indistinctly]
[Dwyane] Y'all put y'all uniforms on. I know y'all got a lot of pride.
We put these jerseys on, we feel a lot of pride
walking around with USA on our chest.
So, I know y'all got a lot of pride.
You guys are role models to a lot of us out here.
We don't get a chance to tell y'all. Y'all are role models to us.
We respect what y'all do for our country.
[Krzyzewski] Hearing those stories, our players let their hearts be opened.
And as a result,
they became the US.
[upbeat music playing]
[sportscaster] And welcome to a special edition
of the FIBA World Championship.
The United States will take its first step this morning
in trying to reclaim the top spot in the basketball world.
[rock music playing]
FIBA Worlds in '06 was the first time we went as a team with Coach K,
and what put even more pressure on is that we needed to qualify for Beijing.
And we needed to win the tournament.
[Krzyzewski] Every game we play, we have to play it like it's a sprint,
not a marathon.
These games are gonna go real fast.
Let's not pick up any bad habits,
especially the habit of overlooking anybody.
[crowd cheering]
[announcer] Big thing for the United States is
you know there are gonna be jitters
because all these guys feel the pressure of representing this team
and getting that gold medal.
[LeBron] It ain't about an individual. It ain't about us.
It ain't about us playing for our teams. It's about the United States of America.
Let's do it for everybody in the United States of America.
"USA" on three. One, two, three!
-[all] USA! -Let's go!
[Dwyane] We were very good.
You could tell, like, okay, we getting the swagger back.
[announcer 2] They make it look so easy.
When they're hot, they're really hot.
[Dwyane] Every game, we did our job.
We came out, and we put teams away.
And we were playing very well.
[announcer 3] Anthony.
Boy, how good has he been?
[announcer 2] United States are still on track
to march to the finals.
[announcer 3] But trust me, Jim, the competition will get tougher.
[announcer 2] Well, after 72 dates of competition,
it all comes down to the number one seeds in each of the pools.
And we've got number one United States going against number one Greece.
[Krzyzewski] Don't be sloppy, okay?
And, uh, like you guys have done the whole time,
let's be classy and… and go after it.
["Tehran" by HEEN playing]
[announcer] Greece are the European Champions.
That's how good these guys are that the USA are playing.
You know, I remember that game like it was yesterday.
They had a guy, "Baby Shaq."
[announcer] And Baby Shaq, Schortsanitis, he is a huge human being.
[announcer 2] Up ahead to big man Schortsanitis for the dunk!
And just like that, it's 36-35!
For one quarter, the third quarter,
we were horrible, and they were great.
[announcer] The problem for the US team
is they haven't defended the pick-and-roll.
-What a lovely pass! -[announcer 2] What a pass!
[announcer] Oh my goodness me, that's how it's done.
They're being picked to bits.
[Dwyane] They beat us with our own offense.
The NBA, at that point, is now a high pick-and-roll league.
They beat us with high pick-and-roll.
[announcer] Diamantidis, a pass back inside to go to the hoop…
It might look on the TV like, "Why don't they just stop 'em?"
When you're playing in real time, it's hard to figure out
what the hell is going on.
And they confidence kept going.
They was making shots.
They played the perfect game,
and we never got back.
[announcer] He misses. That's it. It's Greece!
They have defeated the United States!
The United States have crashed and burned once again by the semifinal match.
[somber music playing]
[Krzyzewski] When we lost in 2006 in Japan,
I've never had a defeat worse than that.
[crowd cheering]
I mean, you're coaching your country's team, and you lose.
[Carmelo] I remember everybody's in the locker room already after the loss,
and I'm just on the court, and we looking at the celebration.
And it was just like… [clicks tongue]
…"We can never have this feeling ever again."
[Dwyane] We did not want to go up and get on that stand
and take those bronze medals,
'cause we was like, "We are better than this."
It wasn't time.
You can't think that things are gonna happen on your term.
I know I didn't feel as shitty as I did when we lost in Athens,
but it wasn't the right time.
[pensive music playing]
On behalf of USA Basketball, I just want to welcome you back.
Last summer, we fell short of something we wanted to do,
and that was win the World Championships
so that we wouldn't have to qualify this summer.
And it didn't happen.
[Krzyzewski] We lost in '06
because we thought we knew the landscape, and we didn't.
We were gonna now learn the game we were playing
instead of the game that we played in the NBA.
I just want to tell you some… some things that we're gonna do.
It wasn't natural.
That game was not natural for our play--
It's a different ball.
It has 12 panels instead of 8.
You can walk through the free-throw line when someone's shooting.
You can touch the ball off the rim in the Olympics.
It's, like, all these small rule things that we weren't used to.
If you're down here bumping without the ball
or cutting like they said this morning,
if you're cutting down from the high post down to the low post,
he can get in my way, and there's no foul. In the NBA, we can't do that anymore.
[Krzyzewski] We had to get a feel for the game, a feel for the ball,
a feel for the officials.
We had to learn a different game.
And we knew we needed some older players.
That's why we went out and recruited Kobe Bryant.
-[man] What's up, man? -How you doing?
[man] Good to see you. Welcome.
[dramatic music playing]
[Plaschke] Nobody brought more baggage to Team USA than Kobe Bryant.
He had been ostracized by the league.
He came into this at a point of his career where it could have gone either way.
He had run Shaquille O'Neal, a beloved figure, out of LA.
They thought he snitched out Shaq's personal life to the police.
[crowd cheering]
They thought he was selfish.
[Kobe] We gotta do something this summer and get a contender.
I don't want to be a one-man show.
He had demanded a trade in the parking lot
of a Ralphs grocery store in Newport Beach.
Kobe Bryant today turning the NBA world on its head.
-Are you saying you want to be traded? -[Kobe] Yeah, I would like to be traded.
Says he wants out, says he recants it and wants back.
[Adande] 2007 is an interesting point in his career.
He's taken a hit.
And so Kobe is fighting to regain his place.
He's fighting to restore his name as well.
[Plaschke] He had to prove that he was a team player.
He had to prove that he was a good guy.
He had to prove himself to everybody in the world.
We knew right away how serious it was. And he always had a very serious demeanor.
You don't meet Kobe, and he's like,
"Hey, man! I'm Kobe!"
That's not the experience you have. It's more like,
"This is Kobe Bryant."
"Nice to meet you."
I'm like, "Damn," you know? [laughing]
[LeBron] We was kind of surprised that he wanted to be a part of Team USA
after everything that had went on.
I'm not one to force a relationship with anyone,
but you sense Kobe is someone who don't really want to be fucked with.
[Plaschke] Kobe did an interview,
and he talked about talking with a couple of his NBA friends.
And the reporters, we laughed.
'Cause we knew he didn't have any friends.
["Top Shelf" by Outerspace feat. Sadat X playing]
[Adande] Kobe had never taken the steps
to ingratiate himself with the players around the league,
so they're still eyeing him a little warily.
[Chris Bosh] I knew Kobe, but I didn't know him.
Played basketball against him.
[announcer] Kobe again! Yessir!
He's the best player ever. And he was… he was almost untouchable.
♪ Get up, throw your hands in the air ♪
♪ Or shut up… ♪
[Carmelo] Man, Kob is a guy that… He's a loner.
Rolls by himself. Like, he don't need nobody with him.
Like, he's that guy, and he's comfortable with that.
I don't think nobody accepted him like that at that point in time,
and I don't think he was receptive to anybody at that point in time.
In fact, the first meeting for the 2008 Olympics,
he sat by himself.
[Krzyzewski] You should think about that,
because you are not just playing for Kobe Bryant or LeBron James.
You're playing for our country.
That's an amazing opportunity that is only afforded a very few people.
[rock music playing]
[Carmelo] It was like, "Kob, look."
"You here to play with us. We here to play with you." Like…
"We don't need Laker Kob."
"You know I'm saying? Like, we need Team USA Kob."
He was like, "I get it. I'm in. I'm tired of watching y'all lose."
He said that to me. "I'm tired of watching y'all lose." [chuckles]
-Let's go. Let's go get 'em, man. -[Carmelo] Come on. Let's go.
-"Together." One, two, three. -Together.
It means everything.
I've been looking forward to this for a while, and to be in this position,
to be able to represent our country, man,
it's special. Special.
When we lost in 2004, um, it was a heavy blow for us.
You know, this is a sport that we've dominated for years,
and I think, you know, there was… there was… was a lot of beauty
in the fact that we lost, because it means that the game is growing so much
and there's so many countries that are playing at a high level.
But at the same time, it was like, "Okay. That's beautiful."
"But now we want it back." [laughing] "We want it back."
For us, it was a chance, a shot at redemption.
We wanted to show the world
that we are the best basketball-playing country.
[Plaschke] I came up to Kobe at the first practice, and I see him.
He said, "I'm glad you're here. You're gonna see something."
"You're gonna see the USA be great again."
"This is my challenge. This is bigger than anything I've ever done."
This was the start of the second chapter in the life of Kobe Bryant.
[Colangelo] We get into the first day of scrimmage.
Stay over there, stay over there, stay over there. Come on!
[Colangelo] This was like 30 seconds into the scrimmage,
and there was a loose ball.
[indistinct shouting]
And he's diving headfirst on the floor
over and over for the loose balls.
[player] C'mon, Kob! Yessir!
Tell me that didn't set an example.
It set a big example.
Coming up! Help it, help it!
They dove for loose balls. They got big rebounds.
They played defense. They were in people's faces.
And all of that started with Kobe Bryant.
[Kobe] Growing up overseas, you know, I have a… a pretty good understanding
of the emotion and the passion they play the game with over there
and how important it is to… to… to beat us.
[dramatic music playing]
[Kobe grunts, groans]
[Krzyzewski] We've never had a practice like this.
[Kobe] Knowing a lot of guys that play overseas,
they think we're a bunch of showboat players that can score a lot
and do a lot of things offensively but won't do the dirty work.
Because we're all star players, we won't do the dirty work to win
and to beat them on a consistent basis,
and to me, I think that's the thing that's gonna get us over the hump.
[man] Oh, come on, Kob.
[Krzyzewski] He knew that he had to show the guys…
Ball, ball, look at the ball!
…that he was all in,
and the way to do that was to play defense.
[man] Get 'em, Kob!
[Krzyzewski] That was his way of saying
to the team, you know, "You can talk about things,
but when you're actually doing it,
you know, that's the main thing."
[dramatic music fades]
[Carlos] We're in Vegas.
We're training and all that, and we want to go out.
So we all go out.
Everybody but Kob.
Think we was at… we went out to, like, Club Tryst or something like that.
♪ Big things poppin' And lil' things stoppin' ♪
♪ Big things poppin' And lil' things stoppin'… ♪
We're dressed like this, dressed to impress.
Got our fly stuff on. We had a good time.
♪ What you waitin' for? ‘Cause I'mma do it… ♪
That was so much fun.
♪ ‘Cause I'mma do it What you waitin' for… ♪
Come back to the hotel about 5:30 or 6:00 in the morning,
and guess who's in the lobby on his way to the gym?
[Carmelo] Kobe is downstairs in the lobby
with his bag and his sneakers
and his gloves, like, weight… weight-lifting gloves.
And we're, like, joking, "Where the fuck you going?"
"Where you going, bro?"
-"I'm going downstairs." -"I'm going to the gym."
And in my mind, I'm like, "What the fuck?"
This motherfucker Kobe was already, like, drenched in sweat.
And we was like… "Yeah, he different."
Like, "Man, it's four o'clock, man. I'm…"
"I'm going to sleep. I'll see you at practice."
[Carlos] As we're going in the elevator up to our rooms, we're like,
"Did you see… did you hear that?" We're all talking, just like,
"This guy's really dedicated."
♪ Every day, I'm hustlin' Every day, I'm hustlin'… ♪
Next thing you know, it goes from just Kobe going at 5:30 in the morning
to LeBron and D Wade,
and by the end of the week, the whole team was getting up every morning,
and we're on Kobe's schedule.
It was a domino effect. You know, once you start seeing, like, the greats
in there doing they thing and leading that pack,
then it's like, "Oh, I'm here. I'm with you. Let's go."
And he created that. He wanted that.
He wanted to see who was gonna commit. I'm gonna be honest with you.
I wasn't going at no fucking 4:30. That's… that's too early.
But we started getting down there for breakfast and lifting weights.
We would lift, then we would eat and then go to practice.
For Kobe, he was the best player,
but now LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony,
these guys were coming up.
How do you handle that?
And how do you lead a team
when you're the alpha dog?
[Carlos] At this time, there's literally a debate going on
in every barbershop across the country
and every household… "Who's the best player?"
LeBron is the most dominant player in the game this year right now.
The most dominant player in the game.
[fan] Who do you want at the end of the game?
Kobe. Absolutely.
I say LeBron James.
-Who has more assists per game? -[fan 2] Rich.
Who has more rebounds per game? Who has more steals per game?
-Look at that boy's stats, man. -Google "most valuable player."
These two guys have been touted as greats since high school,
and, you know, it's a lot of media coverage
that kinda put them versus each other. "Who's this? Who's that? Who's the best?"
I hear the talk. You know, I think it's exciting.
As a kid growing up, you know, you wanted to see those matchups.
You wanted to see Magic and Bird. You wanted to see Michael and Magic.
And you wanted to see those matchups, just 'cause they're interesting.
[LeBron] Who's the best in the world? Is it Kobe? Is it Bron?
Is it Bron? Is it Kobe?
I heard it, and it was definitely on my mind,
'cause as alpha males, you always got in the back of your mind, saying,
"I want to be recognized as the greatest in the game."
[Dwyane] Everyone had to make sure their relationship worked,
because if that didn't work,
there's no way in hell none of this was gonna work.
Coach K, I thought, did a wonderful job of making sure that things were competitive
but they didn't get out of hand.
You gotta separate the rams, right?
Like, keep the two bulls separated if we want to have a good practice.
Where you would think that there might be a butting of heads,
you know, those two guys were amazing as far as developing a relationship.
[upbeat music playing]
Humor played a big part in the whole thing.
[LeBron imitating announcer] At shooting guard, number 10,
from Philadelphia-slash-Italy.
[all laughing]
Listen, I understand Kobe is serious as hell when it comes to work,
but he want to smile too, and he want to feel accepted too, so…
The Marksman-slash-Mamba Kobe!
Right! Right! Right!
I mean, I don't call myself a comedian,
but one thing about him, he's always gonna keep his guard up.
But it was a relief for the whole team and just for the program
to see him in a different light.
I was talking to a dude yesterday from Croatia who said,
"If Dwight Howard come down to Atlanta, I'm gonna punch him in his mouth."
[all laughing]
[Kobe] He's… he's hilarious.
I mean nonstop, though. You know what I mean? Like, it don't stop.
Bang bang! Game time!
It's fun for me to be around and see that kind of enthusiasm,
because we both have the same passion. We just show it in different ways.
-[man] Come on! -By yourself, screen right!
I'm a vocal-type guy.
-You know, and Kobe is… is not much vocal. -I don't say nothing.
[laughing] Yeah, he don't talk much, but I do most of the talking.
But with that combined is… is… is danger for… for the opponent.
You're all by yourself, Mike! Down! Down! Down! Down!
You guys know what he do on the court as far as his example.
Oh yeah! That's off.
[man] Shadow! Shadow!
They just played off each other so beautifully,
and you got two alphas in the prime of their careers
that don't care about who the alpha is.
Very rare.
[man] Go!
Back to you!
-[whistle blows] -[man] And one, Bron! And one, Bron!
Way to run the floor, boy!
They knew that the key to the team would be
how their relationship was and how it was perceived by everyone.
-That's the word. -That's the word, huh?
That's the word.
Guys, there are going to be people in 50 states looking at you guys.
There are going to be kids, people everywhere wanting to have pride
in all… all of you.
You know? They're not going to be Laker fans, Cavalier fans.
They're looking to be USA Basketball fans.
Understand that responsibility.
I know I'm not gonna fucking lose.
[whispers] Shit, man.
I am not gonna fucking lose.
Not when I'm wearing this and at this time in my career.
You're gonna have to fucking shoot me.
That's the… I'm telling you, that's the way I want you guys to play.
Now, I'm a grandfather. I got five grandkids.
At one time in your life,
you sumbitches are gonna have maybe an artificial hip or a knee,
or you're gonna be fucking losing your hair.
Gonna be a little fucking pouch on your fucking stomach.
[chuckles]
And there's gonna be a grandson sitting on your lap and saying,
"Hey, Poppy," or "Granddad."
"Yeah?" "Weren't you in the Olympics?"
"Yeah." [hesitates] "What did you do?"
"Well, son, we lost to that fucking Greek team."
[players laughing, chattering indistinctly]
"Where's Grandma?
[players laughing loudly]
[sportscaster] Las Vegas, Nevada, the City of Lights.
Ten teams coming to the city courting more than just Lady Luck.
They are looking for something precious, looking forward to next summer.
At stake, two spots in the upcoming Olympic Games.
You know, tonight's, uh, the first game,
the first kind of step in that direction.
And we're ready to go. So it's the beginning of a long journey.
[intense music playing]
-"USA" on three. One, two, three. -[all] USA!
All right, let's go.
[announcer] I think… Oh my God!
[announcer 2] Kobe Bryant!
[announcer] The windmill.
[announcer 2] Oh, and then the block at the other end by LeBron James!
[announcer] Here he is with Jason Kidd on the break. He put that off the board.
[announcer 2] LeBron James with the finish!
Great teamwork and the slam!
-Kobe Bryant staying on it. -[whistle blows]
And it's called!
Oh! Kobe Bryant will go to the line with a chance at a three-point play!
A spectacular play by Kobe Bryant.
This is where we blow the game open. Let's not let up.
Ten minutes, boy!
[announcer 3] The way these guys have played together
and… and the unselfishness,
the ball movement.
This is an unstoppable team.
[announcer 4] They finish with a perfect record
in the FIBA Americas.
And it's all over. The gold medal belongs to the US.
[sportscaster] I think they should all be happy and proud.
They accomplished what they wanted to do. They're headed for Beijing.
And, uh, world, look out. US is making a statement.
[Krzyzewski] Okay, yo, great job.
Great job, everybody. We're going to China.
[sportscaster 2] They are definitely hitting their stride.
Now, maintaining that momentum almost a full year away,
that's going to be the key. You also have the unknown.
Who is going to be there, who might not be there,
and you can't predict who's going to have problems physically.
Unfortunately, that is going to occur over the course of a long NBA season.
[upbeat music playing]
[announcer] Here he comes!
Dwyane Wade, another two!
He's got 55!
[crowd cheering]
Oh, Wade, what a play!
[announcer 2] Wow.
I think, at that time, Kobe, LeBron, and myself
were the three best players in the NBA.
-[announcer 3] Here he comes! -[whistle blows]
-[announcer 4] Yes! -[announcer 3] Oh, baby, he did it again!
[upbeat music continues, fades]
[announcer 5] And is that Wade over there?
You see there as the arm gets extended back.
Kara Lawson over there on the sideline telling us that is a shoulder injury.
[somber music playing]
[Dwyane] So I had came off a serious injury,
and it took a while for me to build myself to be
back to that place when a lot of people didn't think I would.
No one thought I would even be on the Olympic team
because I didn't recover the way I needed to,
uh, and then I was having knee problems, so I got surgery on both.
[reporter] Wade is rehabilitating his surgically repaired left knee
back home in Chicago.
The drills are basic, and the weight training is intense.
[intense music playing]
Dwyane, for me, he was critical.
[reporter] Wade has gone from NBA champion
to missing major playing time on the court.
Now he's not just trying to get back on the court.
Wade is aiming for a spot on the US Olympic team this summer.
[Dwyane] Coach K definitely wanted me to be a part of the team.
Right? But Jerry Colangelo had some questions.
[Colangelo] I did share with them my… my thoughts.
Uh, I talked about when he came into the league,
he was really hungry, and he really established himself.
But it appeared to me from a distance,
I felt that was missing.
He wasn't the same guy.
You see the ascension and then injury.
And let's be frank.
The Heat sucked that year before
and, I think, the year before that too. [laughs]
I mean, they had a rough run of it.
[intense music continues]
[Dwyane] They had to come up to Chicago, watch me train, watch me work out.
You know, talk to my trainer.
I did understand that, but I was pissed,
because it was just a part of, like, my never-ending story of,
you know, always feeling like they don't appreciate you.
You've been forgotten. So it was just another part of like,
"Okay, here we go. Grade school? Same thing."
"High school? Same thing. NBA? Same thing. Olympic--"
You know, same thing.
I was just trying to get myself back, get myself, you know, to that place.
But I'm just sitting back watching, like, "Okay, where do I fit in?"
Because I didn't know if I fit in or not no more.
[upbeat electronic music playing]
[inaudible]
I didn't think D Wade was gonna play in '08.
And then he showed up with number nine
and a bald head.
And it was like, "Oh, okay."
"This is what we doing right here? This is what we doing? Aight."
[Deron] These are all guys that are committed to this team,
who wanted to be on this team from the beginning.
This is the team that's gonna go over there.
This is the team that's gonna put USA back on top.
[photographer] Eyes right here.
[flashbulb clicks]
[Krzyzewski] You have to know what you're going for.
And sometimes, you have to see it, and you have to see it every day.
What we're gonna do is we're gonna have notebooks for you.
And the very first page of this notebook will be right here,
the gold medal.
That's our goal,
is the gold medal.
Any of you other guys have… coaching staff or anybody?
We gotta be a no-excuse team. I know I'm guilty of this sometimes.
I sit at home and say,
"If I had Dwight Howard on my team or if I had Carlos Boozer on my team
or if I had Chris Paul as my point guard, I'd win an NBA championship."
I got all y'all on this team. So, what's my excuse now?
Do we all have an excuse? We don't.
This is everything that we always dreamed of,
of having that guy next to you and winning something.
I don't have no excuse now.
None of us.
[somber music playing]
For me, the Olympics and basketball was always very important
because of what my dad went through in 1972.
Growing up, every Olympic cycle,
there were always stories every four years
about that game in Munich.
[announcer] 49-48. Three seconds on the clock.
Doug Collins will be shooting two fouls.
[crowd cheering]
This place goes insane.
Doug Collins has perhaps won the game.
[whistle blowing]
Wow, what a finish!
The United States… winning their eighth consecutive gold medal.
[crowd continues cheering]
Now we're being told the scoreboard is not correct.
We had a guy come out of the stands to put more time back on the clock.
[referee] There are another three seconds left.
[announcer] Now the clock says three seconds.
There is time for the Russians to go to their big man, Alexander Belov.
They're going to try.
[crowd cheering, screaming]
Alexander Belov!
And this time, it is over.
[somber music playing]
[Chris Collins] My dad told me Coach K asked if he would come in
and talk to the team.
I think Coach K realized that he, more than anybody,
could get across to the guys what it meant to play in the Olympics.
Believe me, when I walked in that room,
my heart was racing.
And I was nervous.
I knew about it a little bit, but I didn't know the full story
of how we got cheated in the Olympics.
[Doug Collins] I spoke from the heart about my experience in '72.
And I said, "I want you to hear the national anthem."
"That's the last song I want you to hear."
"I want you to get on that podium to get that gold medal for the United States."
"It'll be a moment you'll never forget ever in your entire life."
"And you'll be bonded for the rest of your life in joy."
"My team is bonded in pain,
and I don't want you to ever have that feeling."
[Jason] It… it just ties us together when someone can share their pain,
understanding what he went through and that he lived with it.
Not that it just disappeared, and like he forgot about it,
but he thinks about that on a daily basis.
[Doug Collins] So many of these guys, they had a connection with me.
I had a connection with LeBron.
I broadcast LeBron's first game ever in the NBA.
I broadcast his first two games.
Kobe Bryant, I played with his dad.
I went back to the '78-'79 yearbook. I just took a picture of the yearbook,
of baby Kobe sitting on his dad's lap.
My daughter was born that year.
I mean, I had connections with these guys.
And so it was personal. It was personal to me.
[Krzyzewski] Hey, fellas.
I just want to show you something.
This is gonna be our song, yeah,
with one of the greatest artists of all time singing it in 1983.
[rhythmic music playing faintly over speakers]
Coach K said they wanted us to hear our national anthem.
-♪ …can you see ♪ -[crowd cheering on recording]
[Chris Paul] And it was Marvin Gaye's national anthem.
♪ By the dawn's ♪
♪ Early light ♪
[Chris Paul] To me, it's the best national anthem that there is.
We all had goosebumps,
and I'll never forget it.
♪ The star-spangled… ♪
[Dwyane] Sometimes when you're younger, and you're playing the game of basketball…
♪ …banner… ♪
[Dwyane] …you don't understand the history as well as you should.
[audience clapping on recording]
Being African-American, sometimes,
we have to understand what it took for us to be where we are today.
♪ And the home… ♪
And we have to understand the people that laid down the sacrifice for us.
♪ Home of the brave ♪
[audience cheering loudly on recording]
All right. Let's bring it in. Bring it in one time. Let's go. Let's go.
-"USA" on three. One, two, three. -[all] USA!
[inspirational music playing]
[fireworks exploding]
[announcer] Welcome to Beijing,
the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Summer Games.
The moment has arrived.
[performers cheering]
[all banging in unison]
[announcer] And the focus of China and the world is on the National Stadium.
[inspirational music continues]
Listen to the rousing welcome to the USA team.
Kobe Bryant, the NBA star, hoping to lead the Redeem Team.
Dwyane Wade right in front of him, from the Miami Heat.
[Dwyane] I remember taking that walk.
As you walking, everyone's screaming. You trying to wave and stuff.
I just remember Kobe just kept… [chuckles] He kept doing this to people.
[crowd cheering]
[inspirational music continues]
[Dwyane] Normally, wherever we go, it's the Olympic team. We're a big deal.
Some players are more popular than others, but it's still the Olympic team.
When got to China, it wasn't even close.
It was, "Kobe, Kobe, Kobe, Kobe."
[crowd chanting] Kobe! Kobe! Kobe! Kobe!
[rock music playing]
[crowd cheering, screaming]
-[reporter] Who's your favorite? -Kobe.
Oh, Kobe Bryant.
Kobe is the best.
[Carlos] Kobe's celebrity was like Michael Jackson about to go on tour
back in the day.
I mean, a girl fainted right in front of us,
trying to get to Kobe.
Kobe!
[Kobe] It's a bit overwhelming and a little embarrassing, to be honest.
I'm just trying to blend in and, you know, duck my head down,
'cause I just want to be part of the mix, but nonetheless, it's extremely special.
[Dwight] It was thousands of fans waiting at the hotel.
[crowd chanting] Kobe! Kobe!
They couldn't get close to the hotel,
but they were waiting to take pictures of our bus
'cause they knew Kobe Bryant was on the bus.
[crowd screaming] Kobe! Kobe!
[crowd clamoring]
[Plaschke] People went nuts for him. China loved him.
And I think he realized that his responsibility was bigger
than just to the Lakers.
It was bigger than just to the NBA. It was to the whole country.
[dramatic music playing]
[announcer] Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and the United States,
they'll face off against Greece.
And this one has some extra juice, because it was back in 2006
where the United States were upset, a huge upset by Greece in the semifinals.
They had to settle for the bronze medal in those games.
A lot of players went through a lot of hurt because this team beat us
two years before.
We were called "The Redeem Team." Well, okay, let's redeem it right now.
[announcer] So we're set to go.
This Greek team, that's now been together for several years,
has become a very, very good team.
Nice move, Spanoulis, who's a lefty, using the right hand.
And Greece off to a great start.
Nice feed inside, and Fotsis on the finish.
[announcer 2] The United States right now getting broken down defensively
very early in this first quarter.
[announcer] Chris Bosh comes in.
A guy like me, I knew I had to do something,
uh, to be able to prove my value with that team.
I made more of an effort to be, uh, a defender.
[crowd cheering]
[announcer] Chris Bosh, excellent defense, forcing the turnover.
Paul, the ball fake, pretty play.
And the United States have tied the game.
[announcer 2] USA defense creating offense.
[announcer] Here's Wade with the steal.
Here's LeBron James and the slam!
Spanoulis blocked by Bosh!
Spanoulis blocked by James!
Rebound, Zisis blocked by Bosh!
Zisis blocked by James again!
James finds Bosh…
[whistle blows]
Count it and a foul! Wow!
There's Wade, another steal.
Excellent defense. Throws it and…
[crowd cheering loudly]
Dwyane Wade with a spectacular pass, then Kobe Bryant with the finish!
[announcer 2] That's the play of the tournament right there.
[announcer] And the United States passed their first real test here in Beijing.
A dominant victory against a very good team from Greece.
[crowd cheering]
Our goal was to win the respect of our country
and win the respect of the world.
We weren't gonna be the ugly Americans.
[Kobe] It's also about respecting your opponent.
We really want to beat people. We want to put it on them.
But you don't want to embarrass them. It'd be disrespectful.
We feel like this is such a great stage
for people to see worldwide what a beautiful game this is.
It doesn't make sense to go out there and get in a confrontation.
We're two teams playing hard, loving the game of basketball,
and doing what we do best. That's what the Olympics are about.
What was different was being in the Olympic Village.
When you're in the cafeteria, it's just this massive cafeteria.
You look around, you have some of the best in the world at what they do.
So for me, that's… that's even more special
than being out in LA and seeing celebrities walking around,
because it's athlete to athlete.
I understand what they put their body through to get here.
So there's so much mutual respect and admiration.
[man speaking Spanish]
-Thanks. -[Kobe] Very welcome, very welcome.
Because we were, like, sheltered in '04,
we didn't get the real Olympic experience.
You know, so we was going out to as many events as we could.
["Ante Up (Instrumental)" by M.O.P. playing]
[crowd cheering]
[Dwyane] We want to get out. That was a part of… another check mark of,
"We need to change the culture of the way the Olympics and how we're perceived."
The whole team would go together, or individuals would go together
just to be around the other athletes.
[announcer] USA!
We're all just fans, sitting there, cheering for our USA athletes,
and there's no greater feeling.
It was cool to be able to have a schedule too.
Like, on your off days, "I'm going to see Michael Phelps swim."
[Carlos] Michael Phelps, man.
It was just remarkable to be able to see him and watch him dominate.
[shouting]
[Dwyane] We wanted people to come and support us.
We wanted to… the same thing. We wanted to go out and support them.
We wanted to build some kind of camaraderie as the US.
[Krzyzewski] The one thing in going to see someone great in another sport…
These guys are great in their sport. They get to see greatness.
[crowd cheering]
[Krzyzewski] I think it made our guys even better prepared
for their competition.
[woman in Spanish] And now it's time for THE GAME, in capital letters,
of these Olympics.
Tomorrow, at 16:15, live at RTVE,
the clash of the titans, the top of the top in basketball,
Spain vs. USA.
[in English] Spain is the defending world champions.
We're both undefeated, and, um…
This is the game everybody was waiting to see.
[man in Spanish] What about you and Pau?
[in English] Your and Pau's relationship?
We're like brothers. I mean, we're very, very close.
And I'm very happy for him that he's playing well.
I mean… we're… we're very, very tight.
So it's tough to compete against him.
[Pau] Right before the game, Kobe came to see me
when they came to visit the Village.
I remember that very clearly and vividly.
My big brother came to see me with my teammates,
which everyone was like, "Whoa, Kobe's in our apartment. How cool."
And I believe, you know, that might have been part of his strategy
to kind of soften me up.
[announcer] Now it's time for the United States to battle
what many feel is their toughest foe in these Olympic Games.
Spain. Both teams come in 3 and 0.
They're the two best teams. They're the two gold medal hopefuls.
[LeBron] Kob said he gonna set the tone to start the game. He said,
"I'm running through Pau's fucking chest."
"First play of the game, I'm running through Pau Gasol."
And we was like, "What?"
"Man, you trippin'. That's your teammate. You trippin'. You ain't about to do that."
"First play of the game, I know what they're gonna run."
He knew Pau's gonna be the last screen.
He said, "I'm running through that motherfucker."
I swear, the first play of the game…
[man] Go! Go, Kob!
-[loud thud] -[whistle blows]
[crowd clamoring]
We was like…
"Holy shit."
He just went right into the middle of my chest,
tried to get right through me
to send a message.
Not just to me but to his teammates, to say, "Hey, this might be my brother."
"I play with him. We're close."
"But I don't care about anything else but winning."
I'm right there in front of him, and he's like, bow! [oohing]
Yo!
[Carmelo] He was just like, "No, he ain't my teammate right now."
"Fuck him. Get up." I'm like,
"I love this energy. This is what we need."
We was like, "He did that to his teammate? Oh my God."
"Oh, ain't no way we losing this game. We about to beat the shit out of Spain."
[announcer] Kobe Bryant.
Open three. Knocks it down.
Alley-oop to James!
[crowd cheering]
Nice pass! Paul to Howard,
as they're putting some exclamation points on what is a terrific victory.
In a big matchup against the two best teams,
it has been no contest,
all USA.
[electronic music playing]
[Doug Collins] It's the United States versus Argentina.
[Breen] And what a matchup we have, Doug. First off, because of the revenge factor.
Again, the United States, this same time in 2004,
they lose to Argentina in the semifinals.
[announcer] And the United States will not win gold in Athens.
[announcer 2] Look at the disappointment in the United States.
[announcer] Argentina moves on to the gold medal game.
The United States will play for the bronze.
All four of us, man, we had that game circled.
Me, D Wade, Bron, and Melo were…
Like, "We want this game. No matter what, dominate."
Yeah, man, we wanna smack them. We need a little get-back on Argentina.
I remember getting the, uh… the report on the other team.
I'm sitting there and going down the scouting report.
It said… Manu Ginóbili's name comes up.
Ginóbili in 2008, the media was saying
that Ginóbili might be the best shooting guard in the world.
I just remember, we about to play them,
and we do our film, and Coach K, he has, like, a highlight tape
of, like, Ginóbili. Like, that's our film session.
[announcer] Manu around that screen, drives on Skinner.
All the way in with the left hand off the glass. Nice move from Ginóbili.
The right-wing three! It's a Manu tres.
[announcer 2] Ginóbili knows how to score, hammers it.
Yo, please turn this shit off.
Like, we don't want to keep watching this shit.
[announcer 2] And Manu again!
Then we get to the game. Coach K has printed out paper
and put it in everybody's seat.
Different quotes that people were saying about Ginóbili.
On mine it says, "Manu Ginóbili. Second-best shooting guard in the NBA."
I lost it. I lost it.
Now, I could give you Kobe. [chuckles] I'll give you Kobe.
But I'm not giving you Manu, right?
I just need a little bit of Manu. Need a little bit of that matchup.
[Carmelo] In Kobe's seat, he put the quote
about Ginóbili being the best two guard in the world.
And you saw him go from Kobe Bryant
to Black Mamba like…
-[snaps fingers] -Like that.
We huddled up. He was like, "Listen, I got Ginóbili."
"That shit ends today."
[dramatic music playing]
In that game, we were ready.
It was the game I think Kobe was most ready for.
[PA announcer speaking indistinctly]
[announcer] Superb defense by Kobe Bryant.
[announcer 2] This is the game within the game right here.
Here's Jason Kidd. He's still not missed a shot.
[announcer] James gets inside, up and under, left-handed, pretty play.
Carmelo Anthony nails it.
And we were demolishing them.
[dramatic music continues]
[announcer] Kobe Bryant hangs in the air and banks it in.
And Ginóbili got hurt.
[announcer] And this is a bad, bad sign, obviously, for Argentina.
Ginóbili going back to the Argentina locker room.
And instead of going ahead, it was almost like,
"Well, now we got it." And it became a close game.
[announcer 2] Delfino with the drop-off to Scola.
[announcer] Scola puts it in!
And it's a six-point game.
We were so, "Manu," you know, hyped.
And then Manu went down. It was like, "Oh." [chuckles]
It just took the air out of the moment.
[announcer] They were trailing by 21 in the second.
Since that point, and without Ginóbili,
they've outscored the United States 27 to 12.
The last thing we wanted to see is Manu go out with a foot injury.
You know, we want to dominate whoever's on the floor,
but we wanted them at full strength.
[announcer] Nice entry pass! Good ball movement!
Anthony… misses. Bosh on the follow.
Paul, nice feed inside. Dwyane Wade to finish.
They're able to hold on, despite Argentina playing their hearts out
trying to come back.
[announcer 2] They're 36 hours away from playing
for what these guys dreamed about, and that was winning a gold medal.
[flashbulb clicks]
[indistinct chattering]
[mellow music playing]
All right, here we go. Like I said, today's Kobe Bryant's 30th birthday,
and we're gonna sing "Happy Birthday" on three.
Kobe kept telling us, "Nah, don't do nothing."
"I know y'all planning something. Don't do nothing."
One, two, three.
[all] ♪ Happy birthday to you ♪
♪ Happy birthday to you ♪
♪ Happy birthday, dear Kobe ♪
[LeBron] ♪ Mamba ♪
[all] ♪ Happy birthday to you! ♪
[all applauding]
You know, he always had this wall up with people,
and he was always a competitor with everybody.
[all applauding]
[Carmelo] You could tell he was super excited because we did it.
Like, "Wow, they really opened they arms up for me."
That birthday celebration put the stamp on it.
[dramatic music playing]
[sportscaster] Welcome back. The time has come.
We head out now to the Olympic Basketball Gymnasium,
the gold medal game.
The United States gets set to take on Spain.
[LeBron] "USA" on three. One, two, three.
-[all] USA! -[LeBron] Let's go.
Hello, everyone. Today, a new Olympic champion
will be crowned in men's basketball.
The United States, undefeated in Beijing.
They've won by an average margin of over 30 points per game.
But it will not mean a thing unless Mike Krzyzewski and his team
finish off Spain,
who many think is the second-best team.
A lot of players on this Spanish roster have NBA experience,
led by Pau Gasol and his younger brother, Marc.
We're here, we have a chance, so let's go out there and do this.
It's just a matter of being aggressive,
not being fearful, attacking them, putting them on… on their heels.
[Doug Collins] The last time these two teams played,
Pau Gasol, if you remember, was floored by Kobe Bryant
on the first play of the first minute.
He said it was a cheap shot that shows that Kobe is ready to compete
and wouldn't be surprised if he did it again today.
And we knew that it was gonna be a dogfight
because of how badly we beat 'em the first time.
We had to be mentally sharp.
That was literally the commitment that we made for three years
to get to this moment.
[PA announcer speaking indistinctly]
[Breen] LeBron James knocks down the three to start the game.
Rubio, beautiful feed to Gasol.
And Spain has the lead.
-[whistle blows] -Jiménez fouled on his way to the basket.
That's gonna be LeBron James' second foul.
[Doug Collins] That's a critical foul. Remember, you only get five.
So LeBron James picks up two quick fouls.
We've talked about how he has been the catalyst of this team's defense.
He's the emotional leader.
Mike Krzyzewski rolling dice here a little bit.
He's gonna let LeBron James play with these two fouls.
[whistle blows]
Here's Kobe fouling a three-point shooter. That's his second.
So we've already seen the two leaders from the United States
with a couple bad fouls.
So not a good start by the United States
with their two leaders on the bench with fouls.
Well, first half was disjointed, uh, because of foul trouble.
Now, there were more minutes,
and people were playing, uh… uh, different roles.
[Breen] They bring in Dwyane Wade
and Deron Williams a little earlier than expected.
Sometimes, you feel like you've been there before, you've done this.
I knew I was gonna have a big game. And when I got in, I got right to it.
[Doug Collins] Wade to the basket, goes inside, beautiful move.
There's Wade with the steal.
[dramatic music playing]
[crowd cheering]
Not only did I get two fouls early, Kobe did too,
and that set the stage for D Wade.
[Breen] Wade… hits the three.
There's Wade, another steal.
Anticipates perfectly and finishes at the other end.
Eighteen points off the bench.
Seriously, if you got D Wade coming off of your bench,
you got the greatest international team ever.
I got the moment in an Olympic game to help keep the reins for the team
until our big dogs could get back on the court.
[Breen] Paul throws it ahead. Kobe Bryant, up and in.
Gorgeous feed and a superb finish.
We hitting 'em. We hitting 'em with haymakers. But they not falling.
[Breen] There's Fernandez. Hits a three.
Two minutes remaining. Fernandez…
Oh! How does he put that in? A little shake-and-bake one-on-one,
then the rainbow drops.
[Doug Collins] Well, that's how you spring an upset.
By shooting out of your mind, knocking down threes you normally don't make,
by getting second-chance points
and putting the pressure on the United States.
As an athlete, you love those moments. You have to love those games.
[Breen] Wade for three… again!
[buzzer blaring]
And that will end a wild first half.
Dwyane's points in the first half kept us afloat.
In an international game, the sooner you can put 'em away, the better.
But we could never… never pull away from them.
[Breen] United States leading Spain 69-61.
USA trying to bounce back from the disappointing Olympics in 2004.
Perhaps the second most disappointing Olympics
for the United States men in basketball. Number one has to be in Munich in 1972.
Doug Collins, you were on the team playing against the Soviet Union
in the gold medal game.
And there are a couple of people involved who want to win this game for that team
and for you. Of course, your son Chris, who's an assistant coach,
and LeBron James said yesterday too,
you talked to the team about how to represent the country
and what it meant to be an Olympian. He said he wants to win this for you.
[Doug Collins] That was nice of LeBron. I did speak to the team.
They're 20 minutes away from getting it done.
So United States coming out, and you can feel the tension.
They know what's at stake here.
[Breen] Gasol against Howard.
Shot clock at five.
-Gasol using the left hand. -[crowd cheering]
And all of a sudden, it's a four-point game.
As you get closer to the end,
and you're staying within striking distance,
then you have a shot.
Now, it's like you can really win it.
So let's just turn it up.
[Breen] Navarro, nice runner in the lane.
[crowd cheering]
Navarro, again, likes that runner and puts it in again.
Spain shooting 60% from the field, and they're back within four!
I knew all game long that we had a chance, that you have a… you have a shot.
Everyone saw that we had a legitimate chance.
[Doug Collins] Spain has confidence now. United States has let them hang around,
and the United States right now on their heels.
[Breen] There's Navarro. Inside, Gasol.
United States just can't stop Spain the way Spain can't stop them.
James to the basket, count it and a foul.
So quick down the floor.
[Doug Collins] Frenetic energy.
Both teams diving for loose balls, a gold medal at stake.
Spain within six. They have to like their chances.
Our whole goal with Deron and CP and myself was,
"Once we get in, we have to give this team a different feel and a different look."
[Breen] Oh, here comes Chris Paul.
USA trying to push again.
Wade, spinning. Tough shot, knocks it down.
Wade, coming alive again, and it's a ten-point lead.
Bosh to Williams.
Deron Williams pulls up, knocks it down.
It didn't matter who did it. This guy had 15, this guy had 12,
this guy… it don't matter. Let's win the game.
[Breen] Mike Krzyzewski, obviously concerned,
coming up on the final minute of this third quarter,
the gold medal game in Beijing.
Alley-oop to Gasol! Boy, Navarro, what a game he's having!
Anthony spots up for three.
Puts it in. Big bucket from Carmelo Anthony.
Third quarter winding down.
Navarro. Williams does a good job keeping him in front.
Gets by anyway, lefty layup. Oh, what a shot from Navarro
as the third quarter comes to an end.
My message to the guys was, "Just focus on the next quarter."
"Don't worry about the score."
[tense music playing]
"Stop thinking about that. Think about the play in front of you."
You know, "I don't want you to think that Spain is going to roll over
or go away, because they're not."
[Breen] Rudy Fernandez, a big spark for Spain, he comes in.
He's playing with four fouls, one away from being disqualified.
Oh, what a pass!
And Gasol with the finish, and it's back to a five-point game.
Carmelo Anthony tries a three. That won't go.
USA now one of seven from the three in the second half.
Fernandez puts up a three. It's good!
Two-point game!
-[crowd cheering] -[whistle blowing]
Time-out, United States, as Spain storms back!
[Doug Collins] Spain, all they wanted to do
is put the United States in a position
to feel the pressure.
Well, you know what? The United States is feeling big-time pressure right now.
It's a two-point game.
In their careers, I'm not sure there would be a more tense moment
than the Olympics, two points up,
and it seemed like the world was caving in on us.
At the time-out, I was getting ready to say some things,
and the… the players started talking.
And Kobe and Dwyane and these guys were talking, said,
"We got it. We're good. We're good."
They were built and ready for that moment.
[crowd cheering]
[Doug Collins] Spain has nothing to lose.
They're loose. They're free. And now the United States must regroup
for this last 8 minutes and 13 seconds.
[Kobe] It's one game.
So that means there's plenty of players out here who are nervous,
and I know that they're feeling the pressure much more than I am.
I know I'm ready.
[Breen] Wade to Kobe Bryant.
Bryant on the drive, tough shot, gets it to go.
Kobe Bean, Mr. Fantastic coming to save the day, pretty much.
[Breen] Kobe Bryant, stripped by Rubio. Kobe Bryant gets it back.
Inside pass to Howard for the slam.
And the lead back up to nine with 6:45 to play.
[Doug Collins] Who's been on every play? All three plays, Kobe Bryant.
He hit the big shot, and he's had two assists in this stretch.
[Breen] In this 7-0 run.
This just felt like a great battle.
You could have played it all night long, and it would have been…
it'd have been to nine overtimes. [chuckles]
[Breen] Reyes, the rebound. Back to Fernandez, another wide-open one.
And that one goes down!
Big shot for Spain right there from Fernandez.
You can't help how your body responds, and I was nervous.
I was nervous.
[Breen] 98-92. Another three. Kobe Bryant gets it to go!
[dramatic music playing]
It seemed like the best basketball on the planet being played.
[Breen] Fernandez drives inside!
Oh, what a slam and the foul!
Rudy Fernandez!
[Doug Collins] How about Rudy Fernandez with that finish?
[LeBron] I don't wanna say I was nervous,
but I was definitely like,
"These fuckers won't go away."
[Breen] Five-point game, 104-99.
[Doug Collins] Back to that zone defense.
Who's gonna knock down a shot for the United States?
For some reason, whenever those moments came at the end of games, close games,
big shots needed to be made,
it's like you just zone out.
The crowd's not there.
Once I drove through the zone and hit Kob,
Kob called a jab.
[dramatic music playing]
[Breen] Puts up the three…
It's good!
[crowd cheering]
And he turned, and he did like this.
Kob just said…
[laughs]
You can really enjoy the moment. You can look around in the arena
and kind of soak it all in, right?
And enjoy that.
[Doug Collins] Is there anybody in the NBA who loves these moments
more than Kobe Bryant?
This could be a gigantic four-point play.
Not only that, but Rudy Fernandez has just fouled out of the ball game.
[Breen] Again, United States with some breathing room,
but they have not been able to put away Spain.
108-99.
Three minutes to go in the gold medal game.
Navarro, the runner, again drops it in.
[Carmelo] At the end of the game, we gotta really use strategy.
Like, we gotta really utilize what we have out here.
And you just see… you see the level of play just rise, man.
[Breen] Navarro again, this time out to Jiménez.
Open three-pointer, puts it in.
Back to a four-point game.
Spain keeps climbing back.
[Dwyane] Your confidence comes from being in that moment.
Knowing that you're not gonna be perfect in these moments,
but long as you're not afraid of it, you'll be aight.
[Doug Collins] Dwyane Wade wants to drive. Paul does, as does LeBron James.
[Breen] James inside, out to Wade. His three-pointer…
Knocks it down!
Another clutch three. And it's 111-104.
And I remember hitting it and… [laughs]
…like, you know, just feeling so incredible inside.
[Breen] The United States up by six with 1:20 remaining.
Spain staying in that zone.
Paul to Bryant. Bryant looking for an opening,
gets in the runner. Rolls in!
Kobe Bryant knocks it down. It's an eight-point game.
[crowd cheering]
This is game. Like, we just… [laughs]
We just won a gold medal.
[Breen] And chants of "USA" erupt here
at the Olympic Basketball Gymnasium in Wukesong.
It's one of the greatest games probably ever played.
[Breen] A celebration underway.
And the United States men, gold medalists once again!
-[buzzer blares] -[crowd cheering]
After such disappointments in 2002, 2004, and 2006.
[emotional music playing]
And the players coming over to embrace the former Olympian,
our man, Doug Collins, in an emotional moment.
Not only for that, but of course, your son, Chris, part of the staff.
A special day for the Collins family.
A special day for USA Basketball.
I never expected it, but they all came over to the scorer's table and…
They had some flowers or whatever that they get.
And they asked me to come out,
and they put their gold medal around my neck,
and everybody, big smiles, and took a picture and…
The other day, I… I took that picture out
because Kobe was next to me. [chuckles]
[emotional music continues]
[crowd cheering]
[players chanting]
Where the bottles at? Where the bottles? Where they at?
Where they at?
Gold medal! USA, baby!
Yessir! Yessir!
Good job, CP.
Yessir!
[shouts]
Big man! Big man!
-Who is it? Who is it? -[Deron] No!
-Yes, I told you! -He hit the Kobe!
Our reputation as Americans are singular superstars who go their own way.
We're in it just for the show. We're in it for the glitz.
We're not in it for the teamwork.
-[Dwyane] Get that… -[Kobe laughs]
[Plaschke] Suddenly, the Redeem Team gets here,
and they have more right than anybody else to be standoffish and selfish.
And they're the biggest, greatest team arguably in the history of the Olympics.
[PA announcer] The United States of America!
[crowd cheering]
[joyful music playing]
[Dwyane] I'm sitting on that podium, and I'm thinking about my journey.
I didn't know how much it would mean to me to win a gold medal.
But at that moment, just every emotion that I've ever had,
every moment of doubt, injury, it didn't matter at that moment.
All of those things was for me to be right where I am at this moment.
[Carmelo] I felt joy. I felt a relief.
Like, "Aight, we did it." You know what I'm saying?
Like, we came together for a cause.
My jersey didn't have Denver Nuggets on there.
LeBron didn't have Cleveland.
Kobe didn't have Lakers. Like, we had USA.
[LeBron] Because of everything that we had went through,
in the years that we had, you know, losing,
to be standing up on that podium,
having the gold wrapped around our neck
was one of the most rewarding moments of my career.
I think it just reset the standard, too,
of what it means to play basketball in America.
[joyful music continues]
[Krzyzewski] There's no better feeling than winning the gold medal.
It's your country. It's the world.
It's the Olympics.
There's no greater moment.
[crowd cheering]
[joyful music continues]
[inaudible]
[joyful music fades]
["Harder Than You Think" by Public Enemy playing]
Ah, yessir. Day one of travel, baby.
Here we go. Off to China, baby. Go get that gold medal, baby.
[Chris Paul] Thirteen hours?
Too long to be on a plane.
But we're going for the Olympics, so that's why it's all good.
[laughing]
[man] C'mon, Tayshaun!
[laughing]
[Krzyzewski] You guys got your pajamas off?
Kobe, did you take your pajamas off?
[laughing]
[Deron] Look at me, dawg. I never looked this strong in my life.
Man, he's beautiful. He's got me looking like Iron Man.
[all laughing]
[Deron] You know what I'm saying?
What number do you normally wear?
[Kobe] What number you wear two years ago?
-Ten. -Here y'all go.
[all laughing]
[all chattering indistinctly]
-[laughing] -[LeBron] Let's go. Philly. Come on.
-[whistles] -[all laughing]
All that means is, "Get the hell out of the way."
[all laughing]
[LeBron] I thought it was a play.
You've been tricking me for five years.
I figured it out now, Kob. You better change your signal.
I figured it out. Uh-huh.
I think today it… it really sunk in a lot. And I just… I feel real patriotic today.
Just being right here in front of the Statue of Liberty.
["Harder Than You Think" continues]
Hey, this is the road to gold, baby,
and I'm looking forward to getting that gold medal.
And I'll see y'all next episode.
This is King James. D Wade is right behind. He about to--
Bam!
-Hey. -We signing off.
["Harder Than You Think" continues]
["Harder Than You Think" fades]
[upbeat music playing]
[upbeat music fades]