Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant passed away over three weeks ago, and the loss of the iconic superstar is still very fresh as was made abundantly clear during All-Star weekend in Chicago. From numerous tributes to the players wearing Kobe and his daughter Gigi’s number during the NBA All-Star Game, Bryant’s presence was felt throughout the weekend.
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After the All-Star Game concluded in thrilling fashion with Team LeBron getting the best of Team Giannis, LeBron James spoke about the experience and shared his favorite off-court memory of Kobe.
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“Just being part of the Redeem Team in 2008,” LeBron said. “We have so many off-the-court memories from that team. Either if it was just about basketball or going into some Team USA other events. We were able to see Michael Phelps swim. We were able to see the women’s national team play a lot of their games. We were able to go around track and field. We did a lot of things besides play basketball throughout that whole Redeem Team run that we had when we brought home gold.
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“So, a lot of memories for sure.”
Bryant played a pivotal role on that Team USA squad back in 2008 and 2012. He was the undisputed leader and a role model for teammates who got to see his work ethic firsthand. As LeBron points out, Kobe also made an impression spending time doing other things off the court with his teammates overseas in Bejing, China.
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Team USA went head-to-head against a very talented Spain squad led by Pau and Marc Gasol in the gold medal game. The Gasol brothers, along with fellow NBA players Ricky Rubio, Rudy Fernandez, and Jose Calderon gave the Americans a run for their money. Still, Bryant and Dwyane Wade helped the team overcome the Spaniards and win gold.
LeBron James Deserves Credit For Making the All-Star Game Matter
There was a different vibe to this year’s NBA All-Star game. The players brought an intensity that hasn’t been felt in a long time. You could argue that the appeal of the Sunday tradition took a dip when the 3-point shot became king of the basketball court’s offense.
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There’s a certain amount of credit that needs to be given to the new format, which allowed for the first three quarters to be incredibly exciting and help out some charities along the way. Plus, the format in the fourth quarter managed to create an even MORE fantastic display of basketball last night.
Colin Cowherd certainly took notice of this and felt that the spark that led to this rise in appeal started and ended with LeBron James.
