Kobe Bryant’s Redeem Team Influence Honored by NBA Legend Amid Hall of Fame Induction

This weekend’s going to be all about hoops stars and a mini reunion of the Redeem Team. Chris Bosh will reunite with Dwyane Wade and Coach K to not only witness Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard enter the Hall of Fame, but also collectively induct the 2008 USA Men’s Basketball Team. It’s bittersweet for this group, who miss their leader. The void that is Kobe Bryant’s presence makes this moment more emotional for his ’08 teammates. Bosh was still grieving the loss of the Black Mamba when he was enshrined in the Hall of Fame. The Redeem Team’s honor resurfaced those emotions.

Chris Bosh officially called it an NBA career in 2019, after being removed from it for three years prior. A year after Kobe and Gianna Bryant’s tragic passing in January 2020, Bosh was elected to the Hall of Fame. He penned a heartfelt speech for the 2021 ceremony, and Bean featured prominently in that 20-minute talk.

As he dusts up the orange jacket to head back to Springfield this weekend, Bosh reflected on that specific moment in his enshrinement. “When I talked about leadership in my Hall of Fame speech, I thought back to 2008 — to watching Kobe Bryant set the tone for all of us,” he wrote on Instagram. “It was more than basketball. It was accountability, sacrifice, and the relentless pursuit of being better. That’s the kind of greatness that lives forever.” 

Those words accompanied a minute-long clip of his speech recalling a very specific memory from the ’08 squad. “It was 2008, the Redeem Team was formed. We were in Vegas for the start of training camp, and we’re getting ready for the Olympics in Beijing,” Bosh recalled in that speech.

“I wanted to establish myself as a young leader on the team by waking up bright and early [on] day one. So, the goal was to be the first one at breakfast. I set my alarm, I make sure I’m up by sunrise, I get out of bed, I put on my gear, and I head downstairs…but when I get there, Kobe is already there with ice packs on his knees, drenched in sweat.” Are we surprised anymore? Kobe‘s famous work ethic preceded him. But that time in 2008 was different.

Bryant had made his fifth of seven finals appearances and lost to the Kevin Garnett-led Boston Celtics. He quickly dusted that loss off and dove into Team USA business. That focus awed Bosh.

Interesting that he talks about Bryant as a leader of the ’08 squad during Hall of Fame week. There’s a little side-discourse about who really led the Redeem Team between Bryant and LeBron James. Michael Redd, their former teammate, claims that Bron actually influenced Bryant’s leadership. Carmelo Anthony said that Bryant brought a competitive fierceness to Team USA. And Bosh learnt a lifelong lesson from Bryant.

The hard lesson Kobe Bryant taught Chris Bosh

As Hall of Fame speeches go, Chris Bosh’s was incredibly moving. He touched on his upbringing, that 27-game winning streak in Miami, the abrupt end of his career, and so much more. In 2021, when grief was still raw throughout the basketball community, Bosh’s words about Kobe Bryant, though, struck a chord.

“It took me a minute to figure it out, but this guy was not only awake before me, he had already worked out. He had just played in the Finals days earlier. Meanwhile, I’ve been off for months, and I was still exhausted,” Bosh said. Cameras showed the emotions in the room when he brought up the Lakers legend. Paul Pierce, who had beaten Bryant in ’08, looked moved by the memories.

“What he did that day was incomprehensible to me…that dedication he had only days after falling short of an NBA championship, that taught me something I have never forgotten: legends aren’t defined by their successes, they are defined by how they bounce back from their failures.”

Bouncing back from failure was the core of the Redeem Team. This squad had to restore Team USA’s gold-winning streak. As popular lore goes, Bryant joined this roster because he was tired of the lack of competition in Team USA, and his influence became permanent. The mindset that Bosh spoke about changed Team USA culture for as long as they retell stories of Kobe working out when Melo and Boozer came back from clubbing.

Bosh will join Jason Kidd, Dwyane Wade, Jerry Colangelo, Jim Boeheim, and Mike “Coach K” Krzyzewski as the presenters for the entire 2008 Redeem Team on September 6. Fans already anticipate more emotional stories from the Redeem Team era. How Bosh tops his own speech, we’ll have to wait and see.