Netflix Announces United States Olympic Basketball Documentary

By Aaron Perine

Netflix announced a United States Olympic Basketball documentary this weekend. In conjunction with executive Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, this movie will chronicle the rise of the 2008 Men's national team. For those who don't know, both James and Wade played on that year's incarnation of the basketball team. They called themselves the Redeem Team after a dispiriting effort in the 2004 Olympics brought them back to the States with a bronze medal. Determined to get back to the mountaintop, the group trained religiously and had a couple of classic matches against Argentina and Spain en route to a gold medal. Fans of Kobe Bryant should also be on the lookout for this documentary. The Black Mamba played a pivotal role in setting the tone for a younger team. His heroic play in the Gold Medal game against Spain sealed the deal for the United States. ESPN had a massive hit on their hands with The Last Dance (which also streamed on Netflix), now, the streaming platform is looking to tell this modern story of redemption. Check out what Netflix had to say about the project down below.

On Twitter, the company said, "Netflix and the International Olympic Committee have collaborated with executive producers @DwyaneWade and @KingJames for The Redeem Team, a new documentary about the US Olympic Men's Basketball Team's quest for gold at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing! Premieres October 7"

James previously hooked up with Netflix for Hustle, starring Adam Sandler. That basketball project was basically universally beloved by all audiences. The streamer is probably hoping for more of the same when the Redeem Team documentary hits the service. Here's what Comicbook.com's Charlie Ridgely thought of the movie.

"The one-on-one closeups during the games made it feel more tense and intimate, raising the stakes for the viewer. The wider basketball shots were equally as impressive. There was a flow to the game that most directors aren't quite sure how to capture, resulting in choppy editing that takes away from the basketball experience. With as many basketball names as there are associated with this movie, there was clearly an effort to find someone who could get the game right, and [director Jeremiah] Zagar was the perfect choice," Ridgely wrote. "Hustle isn't something that hasn't been seen or done before, it's just a much better version of those things than we've seen in a very, very long time. This kind of mid-budget adult sports drama has been sorely missed and Hustle represents an immensely satisfying return to form for the genre. Hopefully, it provides the foundation for many more to come."

Will you be watching? Let us know down in the comments!

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