By the mid-2000’s USA Basketball had fallen on hard times on the world stage. What had been considered a birthright of Americans to be champions in the sport was no longer applicable. In fact, since 2000 losing had become an uncomfortable trend and commonplace.
In the 2002 FIBA World Championships, the United States shockingly finished in sixth place. During the tournament, the team lost to Argentina, Spain, and Yugoslavia. Assistant coach George Karl said in a post-game press conference following one of the team’s losses, “Money, greed, and the NBA, is that having an effect on our competitive nature? Yeah, you can write that.” The United States was no longer dominant.
In the 2004 Olympics in Greece, the team was blown out in the preliminary round by Puerto Rico 92-73. Rather than being known as “The Dream Team”, this group was now being called “The Cream Team.” They lost again in the semifinal game vs Argentina 89-81. Team USA was forced to settle for the Bronze medal.
Now coached by Mike Krzyzewski, the team failed again in the 2006 FIBA World Championships in Japan. During the semifinal contest vs. Greece, they were defeated by a score of 101-95. As Jason Kidd said in the Netflix documentary The Redeem Team, “The scare factor was gone.”
Enter Kobe Bryant.
Writer Bill Plaschke said, “No one brought more baggage to Team USA than Kobe Bryant.” There were concerns about selfishness, being a good teammate, loyalty, and alleged personal indiscretions. But upon his 2007 arrival, everything changed.
Chris Bosh said, “He always had a very serious demeanor.” Kobe did not force relationships. He had limited if any friends at all. Carmelo Anthony said, “He was a loner. He was by himself. He didn’t need anybody… He’s comfortable with that.” Plaschke said he even sat by himself in the first 2008 Team USA meeting.
But Kobe had a greater objective. He was all business and came to the team to help restore America’s greatness in the game of basketball. He told Anthony, “I’m tired of watching y’all lose.” Kobe said in a 2015 interview, “We want to show the world we are the best basketball playing country.” Kobe did his part in making that happen. He would literally changed the culture of Team USA Basketball.
Very early in the team’s first practice scrimmage Kobe dove headfirst for loose balls over and over again. The best player in the world at the time was setting the tone. Intensity was increased. Necessary confrontations were happening. Greater energy and commitment was needed by everyone. Bryant knew the team full of star players needed to focus on “the dirty work” and the basics for the team to be successful. Coach K said, “He had to show the guys we was all-in and the way to do that was to play defense.” He added, “We’ve never had a practice like this.” This all happened because of the arrival of Kobe Bryant.
Carlos Boozer and Anthony also told a story of going out to a club one evening while training in Las Vegas. When they returned to the hotel in 5:30 AM, they discovered Bryant had not gone out the night before. While they were returning to get some sleep before practice, Bryant was actually rising before dawn to go to the gym and work out. Every player, from LeBron James to Dwyane Wade to every other superstar, knew Kobe Bryant’s dedication was different than theirs. By the end of the week, the entire team was working out at 5:00 AM.
Kobe brought this level of seriousness to he court as well. After avenging the loss to Greece 92-69, next came the defending champions Spain. Spain was led by Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers teammate Pao Gasol. Bryant and Gasol were like brothers. But for this tournament, Bryant had a different set of teammates and he would make that known in an emphatic way.
Kobe told his teammates, “The first play of the game, I know what they are going to run” and he said in terms unprintable for this site that he was running through Gasol’s chest. Sure enough, as Gasol set a screen for a teammate, Bryant ran through him in such a way as it violently knocked him to the ground.
Remembering that moment, Gasol said, “He ran through my chest to send a message not just to me but his teammates saying, ‘Hey, this might be my brother. I play with him. We’re close but I don’t care about anything else but winning.’” To which they did. The group of individuals known as The Redeem Team would bring the men’s basketball gold medal back to the United States.
And it was Kobe Bryant to set the culture.
For an incredible book on the 2008 Olympic men’s basketball team, buy The Gold Standard: Building A World-Class Team by the team’s head coach Mike Krzyzewski. It is one of the finest books on constructing a winning culture you will ever find. And there’s a lot in there about Kobe Bryant as well!
My latest eBook is available for download. The Top 65 Leadership Quotes Of 2022 Part 1 is a resource every leader should have. Great quotes bring clarity and put into words who we intuitively feel as leaders. They give us wisdom and insights which advance the mission and vision of our organizations. This eBook includes thoughts and insights from leaders like Warren Buffett, Nick Saban, James Clear, Dawn Staley, Jurgen Klopp, Jerry Seinfeld, and even Ted Lasso. This resource will take you about 10 minutes to read but a lifetime to apply. You will want to stop and ponder the implications of each quote. Click HERE or on the image provided for immediate download!