Former Bucks Michael Redd heads into Hall of Fame with 'The Redeem Team'
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) - The latest class of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame will have some Milwaukee ties. Former Milwaukee Bucks guard Michael Redd is going into the Hall of Fame with the 2008 USA Men's Basketball Olympic team.
Redd and the other members of the '08 Olympic team will join eight other inductees for this weekend headlined by 19-year NBA veteran Carmelo Anthony and 19-year WNBA veteran Sue Bird. Ahead of the induction, Redd spoke with CBS 58.
"It's a weekend of celebration. I'm really excited about seeing all the guys, ladies, and coaches to get inducted into the Hall of Fame. Never been there before myself, so I'm looking forward to experiencing the whole weekend. But certainly, happy and excited and jubilation," said Redd. "Somewhat bittersweet with Kobe not being there, but certainly a celebration nonetheless."
Redd was on the 12-man men's Olympic team nicknamed 'The Redeem Team' that won Gold in the Beijing Olympics. Team USA lost to Argentina in the 2004 Olympics in the semifinals, bringing home a Bronze Medal with a win over Lithuania. The 2008 team featured now Hall of Famers Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard; future Hall of Famers LeBron James and Chris Paul; as well as Tayshaun Prince, Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams.
"It was an incredible assembly of talent. But it wasn't just talent. It was guys who understood a role they may have to play. You were definitely in awe looking at the talent on the court. These are the top players in the world that you're playing with. And all of them are specialists at what they do. You learn a little bit from everybody as you watched in practice and whatnot. But what an incredible experience. To be a part of that, you could pinch me to this day, just really, really humbled to be a part of that team," said Redd. "The ability to be day in and day out with these guys and watch them move and how they worked hard and all their habits was pretty fascinating to me."
Redd was one of the older players on the team as USA won the Gold on his 29th birthday. He was one of only four players 28 and older on the team. The one-time All-Star played a different role during the summer.
"I was glad to be a part of the team. I think all of us had the role of and the mentality of whatever we can contribute, however we need to contribute, we're just glad to be a part of the team. That was the mentality whether you played all the minutes, whether you played no minutes, some minutes, it didn't matter. We were all secure in who we were and what we brought to the table. The objective was to win the gold medal and we were able to do that," said Redd.
There are three Olympic teams in the Naismith Hall of Fame already. The 1960 and 1992 men's teams and the women's 1976 teams.
"Gratitude is the first word that comes to mind when I think about this incredible honor. I think about all the hard work that went into it. This was a three-year process that we went through to get to this point of winning a gold medal, but never did we think we would be in the Hall of Fame. We knew we was an important team to the program and heritage of the U.S. team, but never did we think we would be in the Hall of Fame," said Redd. "So tremendous, tremendous honor to be a part and obviously to follow The Dream Team and the 1960 team is humbling."
Redd played 12 seasons in the NBA, 11 of those with the Bucks. He made third team All-NBA and the All-Star team in 2004 and is still third in franchise history in three-pointers made, sixth in points, and tenth in games played. Now he has his name attached to the Hall of Fame.
"You just grow up and you just have dreams and aspirations of being in the NBA. All-Star, Olympics, Hall of Fame never was a thought. It was more so just, you know, the climb and the ascension of getting to the NBA and enjoying the journey. And it's still a journey," said Redd. "Super honored to have done it, and particularly with one franchise my whole career. Played one year in Phoenix and enjoyed that, but my 11-year career in Milwaukee was incredible. I can say to this day, I'm grateful for the organization for giving me a chance to be a leader within the organization and that propelled me to be an All-Star, Olympian, and now Hall of Famer."
The entire 2025 Class of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame includes former NBA players Anthony and Dwight Howard, former referee Danny Crawford, head coach Billy Donovan, former WNBA stars Bird, Slyvia Fowles, and Maya Moore and Miami Heat owner Micky Arison.