During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Kobe Bryant had his eyes set on redemption and the gold medal. A chance for the USA basketball team to resurrect from the embers had presented itself. The team had not won an international basketball tournament since the Sydney Olympics in 2000. And Bryant, fresh off an MVP season in the NBA, was poised to take over Beijing.

The team that aimed to rebound from previous international tournament setbacks came to be known as the ‘Redeem Team’. Bryant led the team and was prepared to go to any length to ensure victory. On the Olympic stage, he unleashed his ‘Mamba Mentality’ and elevated his dominance to the global stage.

One of the people who stood between Bryant and glory was none other than Spain’s Pau Gasol, his Los Angeles Lakers teammate. Mamba and the USA locked horns with Gasol during a matchup against Spain in the tournament. Many assumed that Bryant and Gasol would be friendly; however, the former had other plans.

Before their matchup, Kobe Bryant can be seen praising Spain and Pau Gasol in a new clip from the upcoming Redeem Team documentary.

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He says how close he is to his Lakers teammate and how tough it would be to compete against him. He does, however, state unequivocally that he and his team will not back down.

Pau Gasol then revealed that Bryant paid him and the rest of the Spain team a visit. He suspected, however, that it was part of the five-time NBA champion’s ploy to soften him up.

During their matchup, Kobe Bryant went through Pau Gasol’s chest, which astounded the Redeem Team

Following this, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade revealed what Bryant had in his mind before the game began.

“Kobe said he is going to set the tone at the start of the game,” James said. “And he said ‘I’m running through Pau’s f*****g chest.” 

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Wade then confirmed the Lakers superstar’s strategy, claiming he planned to run through Gasol during the game’s first play. “We was like, ‘what?'”, said the Miami Heat legend.

As one might assume, Bryant, executed precisely what he had planned before the game. He chased the ball as soon as the referee sounded his whistle. And as soon as the ball got past Gasol, who was setting an off-ball screen, Bryant bulldozed through his chest, knocking him to the ground.

Bryant sent a message to Gasol and his own teammates that he was prepared to go to any extent to win.

“We was like… ‘Holy s**t,'” LeBron James said, expressing his disbelief at what had just occurred. Other stars of the Redeem Team, Chris Bosh and Carmelo Anthony were also shocked, and James knew that no power could stop them from winning against Spain.

And that’s exactly what happened. Team USA routed Team Spain 119-82. They would clash once more, this time in the gold medal match. The game was considerably closer this time, but Kobe Bryant and Team USA triumphed and completed their redemption arc.

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Kobe Bryant proved yet again that he would always embrace the ‘Mamba Mentality’ irrespective of the situation, or who he was playing against.