Kobe Bryant’s ferocious will to win was made clear during the 2008 Summer Olympics, with his profane comment shocking both LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.
The comments from James and Wade (beginning at the 58-second mark) are part of the Netflix documentary “The Redeem Team,” which looks at Team USA’s path to winning a gold medal.
In 2004, the US Olympic Men's Basketball team lost the gold and sought redemption in Beijing 2008. @KingJames, @DwyaneWade, and Kobe Bryant led The Redeem Team. This is that story. #TUDUM pic.twitter.com/95MCsOQ6h3
— Netflix (@netflix) September 24, 2022
With Spain and Bryant’s close friend Pau Gasol standing between Team USA and a gold medal, the late Los Angeles Lakers legend displayed his mindset to James and Wade.
“Kobe said he gonna set the tone at the start of the game, and he said, ‘I’m running through Pau’s f—— chest,'” James said.
Wade confirmed the story and noted the confusion of him and his teammates
“‘First play of the game, I’m running through Pau Gasol,'” Wade said. “We was like, ‘What?'”
In addition, James recalled his thinking at the time, thinking Bryant would never go through with the plan.
“Man, you trippin,” James said. “Now that’s your teammate. You ain’t about to do that.”
Wade then recounted why Bryant took that approach and slightly tweaked James’ comments that were attributed to Bryant.
“He said, ‘First play of the game, I know what they’re gonna run,'” Wade said. “He knew that Pau was gonna be the last screen. He said, ‘I’m running through that motherf—–.'”
On that first play, Bryant’s clairvoyance was proven to be correct, with Gasol being knocked to the ground. Team USA went on to win 118-107, which helped ease the pain of its bronze medal effort four years earlier.
Those 2008 Olympics were the first of two gold medals for Bryant. In the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, he and James again led Team USA to a gold medal.
Bryant clearly wanted James and Wade to know that he had no intention of losing in 2008, since the latter two players had been part of a humiliated 2004 squad.
Another likely reason why Bryant clearly wanted to win a gold medal is because those Olympics were being played in Beijing, China. Over the years, Bryant had developed a strong relationship with people in that nation, which continued after his 2016 retirement.
Looking bad in front of a nation where many people idolized him certainly wasn’t part of the plan. Yet, his quest to simply win kept going after those games, with Bryant leading the Lakers to consecutive titles in 2009 and 2010.
Gasol certainly has no animosity toward Bryant, knowing his teammate’s mentality. Like other players, Bryant’s death devastated him, which has led to him staying close to Bryant’s widow Vanessa.
Stories such as these help explain how Kobe Bryant was a central component in helping the Lakers win five titles during his 20 NBA seasons.
