“Those Are Lakers Shots” – When Kobe Bryant Was Confronted by Coach K During 2008 Olympics

Then-Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski confronted Kobe Bryant over poor shot selection in the 2008 Olympics.

“Those Are Lakers Shots” – When Kobe Bryant Was Confronted by Coach K During 2008 Olympics

Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski (Left) and Kobe Bryant (Right) (Image Credits - Firstsportz)

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The iconic “Redeem Team”, a play on the “Dream Team”, featured the likes of the late Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and many other stars. An embarrassing and shocking relegation to bronze in the 2004 Athens Olympics for Team USA meant four years of suffocating shame.

Hence, a redemption arc was on the cards. That gold was a result of a torturous journey, and many of the players were properly honored by the Hall of Fame. In the gold medal match, Bryant’s 13 fourth-quarter points, and especially the four-point play that drove a spike into Spain’s heart, are some of the cornerstones of that team’s lore.

In the summer of 2008, Bryant had three NBA championships to his name with the Los Angeles Lakers and was already a living legend in the NBA. At the peak of his powers, Bryant’s place at the top of the league was unquestioned at the time and that remained true in the Olympics when he was named as the team captain. While the team’s roster had several superstars including James, Bryant brought in the much needed championship pedigree.

But even for a player of Bryant’s caliber, there are moments where confrontation is necessary. In the documentary ‘The Redeem Team‘, former USA coach Mike Krzyzewski or Coach K had one of these moments with Bryant in 2008 when he was forced to confront the Lakers star for forcing ill-advised jump shots. Coach K said:

It was the last exhibition game before we went to Beijing. Kobe Bryant was our leader and best player but in that specific game, he just started taking horrible shots. My players, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, looked at me. I brought Kobe in, showed him the shots. ‘You know, you’re taking Lakers shots when you have a big lead, you’re not taking Olympic shots trying to win a Gold medal. I showed him, I said ‘they are not good shots…He looked me in the eye and says ‘is that all?’ He said ‘I agree they are really bad shots coach, I won’t take them.’ And I was so relieved.

Kobe Bryant in the Olympics

When surrounded by big names, it is on the coach to bring the team together and manage the egos. Most superstars would probably resist being held accountable in the way coach K approached Bryant, but Bryant did not take issue with the coach pulling him aside. In fact, Kobe Bryant agreed with Krzyzewski’s assessment and promised to be better.

Bryant ended up making adjustments to his game and started playing within the flow of the offense. While his numbers were down compared to his Lakers tenure, he was undoubtedly the best player on the team that year and justified himself as the team leader.

Over a span of eight Olympic games, Bryant was on another level of dominance averaging 15 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in just 23.5 minutes per game. He even had a 20-point game in the gold medal match.

2008 Beijing Olympics was probably the height of Bryant’s Olympic run, it wasn’t his only appearance at the Olympics. He played for Team USA again in 2012, where he put up very similar numbers en route to Team USA’s second-straight tournament victory.

LeBron James had a problem with Kobe Bryant

One of the great NBA disappointments is that we never got to see James and Bryant face off in a playoff series. It only could’ve happened in the Finals. By the time James got to the Western Conference, it was to replace the retired Bryant as the star of the Lakers. 

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LeBron James (Left) and Kobe Bryant (Right) (Image credits- Lakers Daily)

But their legacies circled one another as probably the world’s two best players for at least a half decade. So, it was always going to be interesting to see how two alpha personalities would gel together as teammates. James thinks pass first. Bryant thought score first, and second, and sometimes third.

In the last exhibition game in which Bryant took some bad shots, James told coach K to “fix that motherf**ker”. He was talking about Bryant. This inspired coach K to speak to Bryant. In a leaked audio from the games that summer, James can be heard telling Bryant to chill out and go easy on his shot selection.

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