2023-07-19 14:51:00
For a long time, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant were considered rivals by their respective fans. But these two basketball giants have always had enormous respect for each other, and above all have shown that they can unite to put Team USA back at the top of the basketball world. Mike Krzyzewski had a ringside seat in 2008 to see this and he still gets chills.
Let’s go back fifteen years for an article.
We are in the summer of 2008, near Beijing. Team USA then remains on two failures in international competitions with a disappointing third place at the Olympic Games in Athens (2004) and at the World Cup in Japan (2006). The United States thus decides to bring out the heavy artillery for the Olympic Games in China. The Redeem Team – L’Équipe du Redemption – is made up of the best NBA players of the time, led by MVP Kobe Bryant and phenom LeBron James.
Throughout the competition, these two will lead the way for Team USA, along with top performers Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony. On the one hand, Kobe brings his champion DNA, his ferocity on both sides of the court, his leadership and his experience. On the other, LeBron brings his contagious good humor, his enormous athletic qualities, but above all his versatility and his altruism to sublimate the American collective. Result ? 8 games, 8 wins including a magical final once morest Spain, and a magnificent gold medal at the end.
Mike Krzyzewski, aka Coach K and Team USA coach at the time, remembers this incredible experience.
“There was no jealousy between them [LeBron et Kobe, ndlr.]. It was like having a great piano player playing alongside a great saxophone player. They knew their talents would reach the next level by playing together. […]
It gives me shivers just to think regarding it. Because I was there, I saw these guys interacting with each other. There has never been a single problem.”
What made the strength of the Redeem Team was obviously the enormous dose of talent that made up the team, but also the willingness of all the players – LeBron and Kobe in the lead – to make the necessary sacrifices to make Team USA the most formidable collective machine possible. The Black Mamba quickly took charge of defending the opposition’s best player, while James often left Bryant and Dwyane Wade in the top scorer role to better flaunt his all-around game.
Unlike other versions of Team USA dominated by individualism and an inability of the stars to accept a reduced role compared to that occupied within their NBA team, that of 2008 represented an explosive mixture between talent, intelligence, and balance. collective. Indispensable ingredients to fulfill the commando mission which was to bring gold back to the land of Uncle Sam, at a time when US superiority was widely questioned by other nations such as Argentina, Greece and Spain.
Four years following the Olympic title in Beijing, the band of LeBron James and Kobe Bryant doubled the lead at the London Olympics. Always with Coach K at the controls, the stars in their eyes.
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Source texte : Ep. 2 A King’s Reign (via The Athletic)
What happens when you put two of the greatest players ever on the same team?
A bond that transcends basketball, according to Coach K. pic.twitter.com/g4dm60Y2yw
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) July 18, 2023
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#duo #Kobe #Bryant #LeBron #James #told #Coach
