Kobe Bryant was an animal on the court like no other that we have seen in the recent history of NBA basketball. Bryant was aggressive and went to the ends of his ability to ensure he can be a winner, a word that now defines him because of all the success he had during his playing career.
One of his biggest achievements is the Gold medal that he won in the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games while representing the United States. His head coach for those Olympic runs was the legendary Mike Krzyzewski, who revealed a story from the 2008 Games that pertained to Kobe not taking enough shots in practice because he was focusing on being a defensive specialist.
I’m with my staff in Vegas a couple of days before the team comes in, and all of a sudden there’s a knock on the door two days early. It’s Kobe, he said ‘coach, can I talk to you for a minute?’, and I said ‘certainly’. So, he went to a private room and I said ‘what do you need?’, He said I need to ask you a favor and I said ‘yeah, what is it?’, And he said ‘I want to guard the best perimeter player on every team that we play now’. He’s the NBA scoring champ, he’s the best player in the league at that time. He had seven 50-point games that year and he knew that he would have to change a little bit and be a leader. He says, ‘You know, I want to guard the best perimeter player’, and then he pauses. And you know his eyes, he and Jordan had the same eyes they killed you with their eyes, and he leans forward and he said ‘Coach, I promise you, I’ll destroy him. I go holy sh*t, this is good.”
“We go to our first practice and he doesn’t take a shot. He does not take one shot. And he’s playing defense. So, I call him over afterward and I said, ‘you know, yo, this destroy thing.’ He says, ‘Coach, I promised you I’ll destroy him’. I said, ‘look, I’ve seen you destroy teams offensively. Will you shoot the freaking ball?’, and he smiled. You know he had that smile and he said from then on I was the only coach ever to ask him to shoot.”
Kobe was showing that he wants to lock in defensively and reflecting that in practice shows how deeply he’d commit to things he wanted to. Thankfully, Coach K did get Kobe to take more shots and Team USA won those Olympics in convincing fashion.
Kobe Bryant’s Team USA Career
Kobe Bryant played on five USA Basketball teams and compiled an overall win-loss record of 36-0, winning three gold medals, with the U.S. Olympic teams in 2008 and 2012 and the 2007 USA Tournament of America. Bryant wore No. 10 for Team USA.
In the 2012 Olympics, Kobe played and started in all eight games, averaging 17.3 minutes, 12.1 points, 1.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. He shot 42.9% from the field, 43.6% from 3-point, and 90.9% (20-22 FTs) from the foul line.
In the 2008 Olympics, Kobe was the veteran leader of the team that finished 8-0 and won the Gold medal. Bryant started in all eight games, averaging 23.5 minutes, 15.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists a game. Shot 46.2% from the field, 32.1% from 3-point, and 58.3% from the foul line.
