The Los Angeles Lakers have a long history of success. With 17 Championships, and countless amazing moments, that are, arguably, basketball’s most decorated and successful franchise.
Still, the Purple and Gold know defeat — and perhaps none worse than their 2008 Finals loss against the Boston Celtics.
That series was like a gut punch to the organization and its fans, to come so close and then lose to their most hated rivals.
During a recent interview, Pau Gasol (one of the most prominent members of that team) explained the aftermath of that loss, and how Kobe Bryant motivated him, and the rest of the team, to make the best of it.
“When we lost to the Celtics in the Finals and they beat us in the Olympic finals in China in 2008, he came in the next preseason training camp and he brought his gold medal to the locker room. He put it in my locker.
We lost the Finals last year, which was very painful. You lost the Olympics against us. Don’t allow yourself to lose again in this season. We gotta win the championship.’ That’s how he motivated me to step it up a notch that season.”
Kobe Bryant saw every failure as a learning experience. After that ’08 defeat, he, and his team, got better — and won two straight titles in the next two years.
No doubt, the Mamba knew how to lead, and it was one of the many qualities that made his career so special.
