On this day: Kobe Bryant leads Team USA to gold medal in 2008 Olympics

In the mid-2000s, Team USA men's basketball was in poor shape.

It had just won a mere bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics and narrowly avoided a semifinal round loss in the 2000 Olympics, and changes clearly needed to be made.It hired Duke University coach Mike Krzyzewski to be its head coach, and it brought in Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant.

Bryant not only brought superstar play but also leadership to Team USA, and it headed into the 2008 Olympics in Beijing with plenty of confidence.It was tested in the gold medal game on Aug.

24 versus Spain, which was led by Pau Gasol, Bryant's Lakers teammate.

But the superstar guard went into "Black Mamba" mode and hit a number of baskets in the fourth quarter to lead the United States to a 118-107 victory.

He finished with 20 points, six assists and two blocks in 27 minutes.It was the first time Bryant had played in the Olympics, and it was a joyous moment for the United States national team.

Its squad that year, which included LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Dwight Howard, became known as the "Redeem Team."Kobe Bryant takes over the gold medal game against Spain at the 2008 OlympicsOn 8/24 pic.twitter.com/Mp9eHj3N8h Kobe Bryant Stories & Motivation (@kobehighlight) August 24, 2025That game became one of the most cherished memories in Bryant's legendary basketball career.

He would win another gold medal with Team USA four years later, and, of course, he drove the Lakers to five NBA championships during his 20-year career in the league while scoring more points than any other guard in league history.Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven others died in a tragic helicopter crash on Jan.

26, 2020.

Saturday, Aug.

23, would've been his 47th birthday.Aug.

24 had been proclaimed as "Mamba Day," and deservingly so, as it marks the anniversary of the day the Hall of Famer brought the Olympic gold medal in men's basketball back where it belongs.This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: On this day: Kobe Bryant leads Team USA to gold medal in 2008 Olympics.

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