The spotlight shone brightly on the late Kobe Bryant in Netflix’s The Redeem Team released earlier this month. While the world is aware of the kind of ‘Mamba Mentality’ the Los Angeles Lakers star bought to the table day in and day out, there was more about his persona that his Olympics 2008 teammates revealed.
One of the instances was how Bryant never let his guard down around people, and Carmelo Anthony recalled the Five-time NBA champ was even reluctant to let the team plan a celebration for his 30th birthday.
Speaking in the riveting sports documentary, Anthony recounted the days leading up to his birthday when Bryant was all about not having anything special planned.
“Kobe kept telling us, ‘Nah, don’t do nothing. I know y’all planning something. Don’t do Nothing.'”
But it wasn’t meant to be as LeBron James, then one of his teammates along with the rest of the squad had planned for a small celebration where they cut a cake and sang the birthday song. Anthony also shared a key insight
“You know he always had this wall up with people, and he always a competitor with everybody. You could tell he was super excited because we did it. ‘Like, wow, they really opened up their arms for me. That birthday celebration put the stamp on it.”
It was indeed one of the memorable moments for the team that year as they pipped Spain to win the Gold and the contest was regarded as one of the greatest basketball games to have ever been played.
Kobe Bryant’s Uber-Competitiveness Was On Full Display Against Spain
When the two teams met in the Group B stage, the United States notched up a comprehensive 112-89 win with James (18) doing some damage.
But prior to the game, Bryant had made it explicitly clear that he would run through Pau Gasol — his Lakers teammate regardless of the bond they shared when they suited up together in the NBA.
It didn’t matter to Bryant what his teammates said, as he was focused on delivering the gold to his country. True to his word, he tackled Gasol the minute the referee blew the opening whistle putting the Spaniard on the hardwood.
The move set the tone and the team dominated for the remainder of the game, although the finals were a rather shot-to-shot contest. For those who want to watch the entire sequence, The Redeem Team is currently streaming on Netflix
