USA - The Beijing Effect

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When Jerry Colangelo first started to revive USA Basketball after the disastrous 2004 Olympics, the plan was to get the top players to commit, hard and fast. Except that didn't happen. Some expressed fears of terrorism, others simply didn't want to risk injury. That's why it was a slow crawl to get (most of) the nation's best players together on one roster for that epic run in Beijing.

In fact, the more prosaic of these concerns at one point didn't seem so farfetched. In the summer of 2006, an early incarnation of The New Team USA played in the World Championships, losing to Greece in the semifinals. Fast forward to 2006-07. Among those who participated, defending champ Dwyane Wade began the season injured and finished it with an embarrassing first-round exit, a mere shell of himself. LeBron James was sluggish for the first half of the season. Elton Brand followed an MVP-caliber campaign with a letdown. Brad Miller and Mike Bibby never got on track.

Two years ago, it seemed pretty clear that Team USA was bad for the body. That's why Kevin Garnett politely declined, and caught no flack for it -- you know, since he works harder than any other player during the season. But coming off these Olympics, you're seeing something pretty amazing: Players rejuvenated, transformed, and arguably in better shape to take on the league than they would've been without the experience.

Except for these guys, it's all in their minds.

Take, for starters Kobe Bryant, shut down and ousted in the Finals like he wasn't the 2007-08 MVP. At one point, the pundits were imagining the glory of an MVP/World Champ/Finals MVP/Olympic gold sweep. As the Olympics started, though, they were stressing the damage this could do to Kobe's rep if he either put too much of himself out there, or failed to assert himself as a leader. This despite the fact that he was hands-down the most popular player in the host nation.

Lucky for Bryant, in the USA's romp through the field he managed to do both: Communicating with teammates, offering advice, defending and generally choosing his shots, and then carrying them to victory by taking over the nail-biting final against Spain.

The Olympics have had an even more dramatic effect on the way Dwyane Wade is seen, and quite possibly sees himself. Wade's fall from grace was almost mind-boggling; in two years, he'd gone from next Jordan candidate and World Champ to a fragile, washed-up sob story. No one doubted his talent or motivation, but it looked like he might have already subjected his body to too much punishment in the lane.

In Beijing, he was nothing short of a revelation. Not only was Wade healthy, spry and explosive as ever. He also displayed an all-around game that was a far cry from the single-minded slasher that won a ring. Wade had some of the Olympics' most impressive highlights, and also showed off his passing and defense in a way that inserted him back into the "league's best" conversation.

To a lesser degree, LeBron James also upped his stock. No one ever doubts James' talent or raw ability, but rarely do we see him get the chance to harness his full arsenal of skills, dominating through a combination of brute physicality and pristine skill. These Olympics were a showcase for what James can be -- granted, often against inferior competition -- when he's turned loose in an up-tempo game and given competent teammates. Oh, and let's not take lightly that time he logged at center. When Mike Brown played him at power forward during the season opener, I had to think this was a nod to what James showed in Beijing, reminding us just how much there is for a coach to work with there.

And finally, Chris Bosh, the forgotten man of the 2003 draft, was a key force throughout, with sneaky scoring, active defense, and an incredible ability to gauge what this team of stars needed from him at any given moment. Everyone had expected Dwight Howard to simply overrun the international big men, but instead, it was Bosh who proved better suited to the more flexible and fluid style of play. Basketball dorks have always known that the Raptors franchise player was a star, but as his 2010 free agency approaches, expect more and more average fans to push for his acquisition.

The irony is that, as Eastern medicine and psychotherapy have taught us, there's a definite correlation between our mental state and our physical health. Rather than start this season depleted because of the Olympics, or just go in with a little more swagger (and luster in the eyes of the fans and media), you could make the case that in this instance, the mental boost of Beijing has these stars feeling better physically, too.