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There was actually a chance that the final memory of Kobe Bryant on a basketball court wasn’t going to be his 60-point show against the Utah Jazz in this year’s regular season finale.
Team USA basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski actually consulted Kobe on the possibility of him playing in the Rio Olympics.
Coach K on making sure Kobe Bryant didn't want to compete for a spot on Team USA. pic.twitter.com/lfTajIfd6s
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) July 20, 2016
Obviously, Kobe declined. And it sounds like Coach K wouldn’t have done the smart thing and pushed Kobe away from playing for his country one more time. Krzyzewski also admitted how great Kobe’s final performance was and said that on Team USA “(Kobe) wouldn’t be able to shoot 50 times.”
Kobe won gold medals as a part of Team USA in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.
Other NBA legends have played in the Olympics in the twilight of their careers, kind of as a farewell to the sport. Larry Bird and Magic Johnson started on the 1992 Dream Team. Bird was retired at that point and Magic only came back for 32 games during the 1995-96 season.
Maybe that wouldn’t have been a bad way to cap off Kobe’s fantastic career. If that night against the Jazz wasn’t so perfect, this could have been a solid option for the Black Mamba.
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