Bryant, James, Wade to lead U.S. in bid to reclaim hoops gold

"I've always seen greatness in the Olympics, but that was never one of my dreams," Wade said. "I never really expected to be on the Olympic team, especially in my first year. I didn't have a clue what I was getting into. ... Now, we respect the game so much. We respect the team basketball that they play internationally so much."

Anthony saw the 2004 Games as a chance to have "some of the best workouts in the summertime with the best players in the world" and went there thinking "the USA is supposed to win everything."

"Going through that experience really helped me to learn the international game," Anthony said.

He's part of a team that includes one of the best shooters (Redd) and defenders (Prince). There are role players and scorers, including the two biggest.

Bryant will play in his first Olympics after winning his first MVP while leading the Los Angeles Lakers to the finals. James averaged 30.0 points, just enough to beat Bryant for the scoring title.

Those two, along with Anthony, Kidd and Dwight Howard, started for a team that went unbeaten in the Olympic qualifying tournament last year. Eight of the 12 players headed to Beijing played on that team and six played in the 2006 world championships.

"We're a team already," Krzyzewski said. "The thing that this program has done is ... provide continuity and relationships. ... We'll hit the ground running."

Phoenix forward Amare Stoudemire withdrew from Olympic consideration, apparently concerned about pushing his body too hard after knee surgery in 2005 and 2006. So did Detroit's Chauncey Billups, who would have had a tough time making the team given the backcourt depth.

Wade's season ended in March because of a sore left knee that had been bothering him since surgery in 2007. He started working out in his hometown Chicago in May, and James and Paul joined him to help sharpen his game. Colangelo visited recently and left convinced the 6-foot-4 guard was healthy.

"This was to see how far along he had come in his rehab," Colangelo said. "That was the whole thing. Plus, I had a little conversation I wanted to have with him. We took care of that. I watched him work. I saw him do a few things in terms of explosiveness that showed me that he was pretty much back."

Trainer Tim Grover has been working out with Wade. Colanagelo said Grover assured him the Miami Heat star will completely ready when the team gathers in Las Vegas next month.

"I feel great," Wade said.

And he'd feel even better with a gold medal dangling from his neck.