Wait, hold up. Rewind the tape. Picture this: It's September 1, 2006, in Saitama, Japan. You have LeBron, D-Wade, Melo, CP3, Dwight Howard, a ridiculous concentration of NBA power, walking into the World Championship Semifinals. It was supposed to be a coronation. Instead, they walked into a buzzsaw named Greece. The final score: Greece 101, USA 95. The message was brutally clear: NBA talent alone doesn't win international gold. Commitment does. Continuity does. Culture does. But this catastrophic loss wasn't the end of American dominance. It was the bitter, necessary birth of something better. The response was absolute. Led by Jerry Colangelo and Coach K, the program demanded a complete overhaul, securing multi-year commitments from the biggest names in the game. The mission for the 2008 Beijing Olympics was forged in the fire of that defeat: 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. The result? The legendary "Redeem Team" roster, built not just on talent, but on a shared vow to never let t...