What is 'The Redeem Team'?

'The Redeem Team' is a new film documenting the story of the USA men's basketball team who went to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games bidding to restore their nation's reputation.

Executive produced by two members of the Beijing squad who had tasted defeat at Athens 2004 - LeBron James and Dwyane Wade - it features never-seen-before footage from the Olympic archives as well as new behind-the-scenes material from NBA Entertainment.

There are also new interviews with those who were part of this iconic basketball story - including James, Wade and head coach Mike Krzyzewski - with the documentary offering an original and fascinating portrait of team building which heralded the launch of a new era of Team USA men's basketball at the Olympic Games.

Produced by the Olympic Channel along with the Kennedy/Marshall Company and Mandalay Sports Media, in association with 59th and Prairie Entertainment, UNINTERRUPTED, NBA Entertainment and USA Basketball, the film is directed by Jon Weinbach.

'The Redeem Team' is the first collaborative feature documentary between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Netflix.

Kobe Bryant among those who bought in to Redeem Team ethos

Having suffered just two previous defeats in men's Olympic basketball history, Team USA went down three times at Athens 2004.

A squad hit by late withdrawals was stunned by Puerto Rico and Lithuania in the group stages before a semi-final exit at the hands of eventual gold medallists Argentina.

It was the first time the team had,failed to bring home gold since the 'Dream Team' of Barcelona 1992 when NBA stars made their long-awaited entrance to the Games.

A year later, Mike Krzyzewski, aka Coach K, took charge of the team with USA Basketball director Jerry Colangelo insisting on long-term commitments from players wanting to compete in Beijing.

Success did not come immediately with a strong squad featuring subsequent Redeem Team members James, Wade, Chris Paul, Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard and Carmelo Anthony - who was also in Athens - only taking bronze at the 2006 FIBA World Championship.

It was not until 2007, at the FIBA Americas Championship in Las Vegas - which served as a qualifier for Beijing 2008 - that the NBA's main man Kobe Bryant made his Team USA debut.

The LA Lakers superstar reportedly told his new teammates, "I'm tired of watching y'all lose."

USA won the Vegas tournament with ease, and there was no repeat of the flurry of pull-outs before the Games themselves.

With Krzryzewski, aka Coach K, at the helm, and Bryant leading by example as captain, the Redeem Team were unstoppable in the Chinese capital although reigning world champions Spain pushed them hard in an enthralling gold medal game.

Wade was arguably their player of the tournament despite starting each game on the bench, and his 27 points in the final were crucial.

For the Redeem Team, it was mission accomplished.