Jason Kidd already has his space carved out in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He was inducted as a player back in 2018. Now he has a second space, honored alongside members of the 2008 U.S. Men’s National Team — nicknamed “The Redeem Team” — that swept through the Beijing Summer Olympics to restore the gold to the United States.
The team included the late Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Chris Paul and Deron Williams. It was coached by Mike Krzyzewski, and assembled to lead the United States back to glory after a disappointing showing in 2004 ended the Americans’ streak of consecutive Olympic golds.
The team did so in dominant fashion, winning their five pool play games by an average of more than 32 points. In the tournament they beat Australia by 30, Argentina by 20, and won one of the most entertaining gold medal games in history, defeating Spain 118–107.
“It’s a great honor to go to the Hall of Fame on this team. When you talk about those names — Kobe, LeBron, Wade, Melo and also Coach K, being able to play for him. It’s an honor.”
Jason Kidd
Jason prided himself on leading that team by example, letting his teammates do the scoring. He famously didn’t take a single shot for most of the games in Beijing despite starting at point guard.
“For myself, my goals were a little different. I was the ballboy. It wasn’t easy, but we had a lot of fun, just to be able to represent your country.”
Jason Kidd
A two-time Olympic gold medalist, he retired from international play after those Olympics with a 46–0 record in FIBA competition.