LeBron James Confirms What Kobe Bryant Wouldn’t Let Team USA Do During Olympics 2008

What happens when two superstars are on the hardwood? It’s not always a recipe for success. But the 2008 Olympics team turned out to be, as the stacked team won the Gold. “[Kobe] and LeBron developed a relationship that was needed to create the culture, and they did,” said Mike Krzyzewski, the head coach of that squad previously. Now, we know why it was important for LeBron James to be that piece for the Redeem Team.

Despite being in China to promote the new LeBron 23, the Lakers superstar flew down for the HOF moment. Yes, he is HOF already! For context, LeBron James and Chris Paul made history as the first NBA players inducted into the Hall of Fame while still active, as the entire 2008 Olympics team got the honor. Naturally, Bron spoke about Kobe Bryant and his impact. “I think it was just the missing link that we needed in order to regain the dominance, you know, with Team USA. We brought a sense of seriousness to the team.”

He continued and explained what truly changed from 2004 to the 2008 team. “He (Kobe) made us lock in, and we knew once he joined that he was going to be committed to it. You know, we couldn’t be doing nothing half-a–“. Mamba Mentality was instilled in everybody as Black Mamba came to practice. “Kobe wasn’t going for that, so it made myself, CP, D-Wade, Melo, we all locked in even more because we wanted to show him that we can get to that level as well. So, you know, it was just an honor to be out there with him.”

It was not just honor, but also proving a point to Kobe Bryant. Since LeBron was young, he wanted to leave a lasting impression by putting in the hard yards. “I was 23 years old, you know, and being out on the floor with him, you know, he had already won championships before and things of that nature. So it was levels that I was trying to get to, and D-Wade had already won one. And so we just wanted to get to his level and make him proud. And by the end of that trip, we was hosting that gold medal on top of that podium. We for sure made him proud, for sure.”

For Kobe Bryant, this is his second HOF moment. The first one, too, was posthumously enshrined after his unfortunate death in 2020.

This is a developing story…

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