LeBron James and Dwyane Wade’s Dream Team Labelled as ‘Trash’ by Ex-Heat Star

You can rewind back decades in the basketball timeline, and even that won’t change the fact that Team USA was the indomitable force in international basketball. The parity with other nations grew even further when in 1992 NBA players were allowed to play, giving birth to the iconic ‘Dream Team’. Since that day, no matter how much the international opponents progressed, the difference in firepower was just too great. The only year Team USA had to look down was in 2004.

The Athens Olympics was riveting. For the first time, a basketball team assembled with NBA players lost in the Olympics. Additionally, it became the first team to lose three games in a single Olympics. It wasn’t a bad team by any margins. It was commandeered by veterans like Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan, and Stephon Marbury. They even had probably the greatest raw talents sitting on the bench – LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Carmelo Anthony.

Even then they were left stunned, starting with the resounding loss to Puerto Rico in their first game. The basketball world had turned to its head. Where no one was even paying attention, all eyes were expectantly watching Team USA.

During the recent Playmaker series, Mario Chalmers and a former teammate of James slammed the 2004 squad.

LeBron James and Dwyane Wade were on the worst Olympic team?

Carlos Arroyo, who was the architect behind Puerto Rico’s emphatic win over Team USA in 2004 sat down with Chalmers to discuss the 2004 Athens team. Arroyo attempted to put it up for interpretation whether the names of that side would qualify them to be a ‘Dream Team’ akin to the 1992 side led by Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and more.

However, his name-taking was rashly interrupted by Chalmers who said “that’s not the Dream Team”.

Moments before that he chose to take fire at the first Olympic team LeBron James was a part of. He jokingly labeled them as the worst Olympic team of all time.

“They was trash. They were trash compared to the Olympic team,” said Chalmers. When Arroyo asked about who they were being compared to the former Heat guard said “Any of them,” and started laughing. After shredding some jokes, Mario Chalmers admitted, “Alright I’m not going to say trash. They weren’t that good,”

Team USA had never faced humiliation similar to what the 2004 Olympic team had to face. LeBron James angrily said it was a waste of his time during the Redeem Team documentary. The entire world laughed at them, so something big was needed to be done. The scales had to shift back. That’s where the Redeem Team’s structure was built.

Team USA changed everything, coaches, players, and staff. The mission was to create a team with camaraderie and unity. There was no space for personal egos, something that could be to blame for the 2004 bronze medal finish. Expectedly, Team USA, this time carrying the force of LeBron James, Wade, Kobe Bryant, and more embarrassed every team winning by an average margin of 27.9 points.

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From that day, Team USA hasn’t even come to the brink of an upset. Their recent fourth-place finish in the FIBA World Cup has once again encouraged the heavyweights to rise. James, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry all are ready to suit up. What do you think will happen in Paris? Let us know what you think in the comments below.