Kobe Bryant's Mamba Mentality can be described as a persevering mindset, and it took many forms — just ask Pau Gasol. Los Angeles Lakers CEO Jeanie Buss described such a moment after the 2008 Summer Olympics in a segment on the All The Smoke Podcast with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson.
“When we were getting ready for that next (Lakers) season, Kobe hung his gold medal in Pau's [Gasol] locker,” Buss recalled.
In that Olympic tournament, the Spanish squad was stacked far beyond Gasol of the Lakers. The Spaniards had several NBA players, namely the two Gasol brothers, Rudy Fernandez, José Calderon, and Ricky Rubio, who at the time still suited up for Joventut Badalona.
Unfortunately for them, they went up against the legendary “Redeem Team,” which is arguably the greatest collection of basketball talent of all time. This USA team was spearheaded by Kobe, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, and LeBron James.
The NBA season before this medal placing, Los Angeles endured a tough loss in the Finals against their rivals, the “Big Three” Boston Celtics. To be fair to the Lakers, this iteration of the Celtics took the league by storm, as Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, a young Rajon Rondo, and company steamrolled the competition.
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The medal probably motivated Gasol as the Lakers would end up winning back-to-back NBA championships against the Orlando Magic and the Celtics, respectively. Gasol's defense and interior presence were crucial in those two seasons. Plus, he was an underrated passer.
Gasol and Bryant were extremely close friends, having built a relationship with the Lakers which then grew and evolved in subsequent years. The bond was so strong that the Spaniard named his first-born daughter after Kobe's late daughter, Gianna. Memories of Kobe Bryant would always be strong and evocative, no matter what the circumstances might be, but each recollection of Kobe is made more poignant by his death in January of 2020 at age 41.
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