The documentary about the Redeem Team that LeBron James and Dwyane Wade have produced dropped on Netflix, and it has fans across the NBA quite excited. The team was one of the greatest ever assembled, with names like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Carmelo Anthony all involved in bringing the gold medal back for Team USA.
The Redeem Team is considered the second-greatest Team USA squad ever assembled, and there are even debates about whether they could have defeated the Dream Team. While the Dream Team is the original and was filled with many historical greats almost past their prime, most of the Redeem Team’s superstars were extremely young. And as such, they needed some veteran guidance to help them reach the next level.
The man that led the Redeem Team in 2008 and inspired them all was none other than Kobe Bryant. The Mamba was the elder statesman on the team, although he still had 2 championships ahead of him, he had already been in the league for over a decade at that point. And the stories coming out from the documentary about how Kobe inspired them are the stuff of legends.
Redeem Team’s Young Stars Were Inspired After Watching Kobe Bryant Heading To Training As They Were Coming Back From The Club
Like any young NBA star, LBJ, DWade, Melo, and the others wanted to party when they were training together in preparation for the Olympics. However, when they went out to Las Vegas and came back early in the wee hours of the morning, what Kobe was doing changed the culture of the entire team.
The Redeem Team was training and out in Vegas before the 2008 Olympics.
They soon realized Kobe Bryant was different. pic.twitter.com/YvXE7DeNxX
— Kobe Bryant Stories & Motivation (@kobehighlight) October 7, 2022
Carlos Boozer: “We’re in Vegas, we’re training and all of that, and you know, we wanna go out. So we all go out, everybody but Kob.”
Carmelo Anthony: “We went out to like Club Tryst or something like that.”
Carlos Boozer: “Come back to the hotel about 5:30 or 6 in the morning, and guess who’s in the lobby on his way to the gym?”
Carmelo Anthony: “Kobe is downstairs in the lobby, with his bag, and his sneakers, and his gloves, like weightlifting gloves.”
Dwyane Wade: “And in my mind, I’m like, ‘What the f**k?'”
LeBron James: “This motherf***er Kobe was already drenched in sweat and we was like, ‘Yeah, he different.'”
Carlos Boozer: “Like we’re all talking together like, this guy is really dedicated. Next thing you know, it goes from just Kobe going at. 5:30 in the morning, to LeBron and DWade. And before long, the whole team was on Kobe’s schedule.”
This story sounds just like Bryant, he was working around the clock to become the best in the game. And he wasn’t about to not take it seriously either, Kobe had too much drive to do that. The fact that he inspired so many of that generation’s greatest players will forever remain a feather in Kobe’s cap. It was one of his greatest achievements.
