Kobe says USA Basketball WILL win Olympic gold in '08...

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Kobe brags: US will win Olympic gold

Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant believes the USA national team have what it takes to win gold at the Beijing Olympics despite the recent disappointment at the World Championships in Japan.

The 27-year-old sensation visited Beijing during the weekend as part of his "81 Asia Tour," that ended on Sunday.

"Actually we were doing fine at the Worlds," said Bryant. "My team-mates are absolutely the best players in the world and the team is a great collection and combination of young and talented.

"Now we have two more years to get ourselves even stronger, so I think we have the elements to win the gold medal at the Beijing Games."

Bryant had been drafted by head coach Mike Krzyzewski but was then sidelined at the Worlds due to knee injury, only to watch his team ousted by Greece in the semi-finals. The humiliating experience motivates him to return to the national team and is now hungry for international competitions.

"I am so excited to join the team in games," he said. "I am looking forward to the challenge from the best teams in the world, like Spain and Greece.

"I haven't played with coach K but I really hope that I can at the Beijing Olympics. It's clear that it's impossible to lead a team to world champion just by myself, I need support from my team-mates and coaches. We've got to win as a team and lose as a team."

Once the world's undisputed basketball superpower, US "Dream Teams" stocked with NBA talent ruled the international game with gold medal-winning performances at the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Olympics. But the dominance has faded in recent years.

In the 2002 World Championships in Indianapolis, the Americans lost three times and finished an embarrassing sixth. In the 2004 Olympics in Greece, Team USA again lost three games and settled for a bronze medal.

Bryant is widely seen as one of the most outstanding players in the league. He scored 81 points against Toronto in January this year, the second-highest total in NBA history. During the 2005-2006 season, Bryant ranked No 1 in the NBA in terms of points per game (35.4) and averaged 27.5 points at the play-offs.

He took part in the closing ceremony of a Nike training camp for youngsters as a coach in Beijing on Saturday and watched a game of Nike Chinese Middle School League.

"The basketball atmosphere is awesome," Bryant said. "Yao Ming opened the door for Chinese at NBA. He set a good example of how Chinese players made it into NBA.

"It's not about where you're from, it's about your practice and effort. I am looking forward to seeing more Chinese players in NBA."



I believe Kobe will save the USA and definitely bring them back to glory...Should be way more interesting than this years gay ass "World Championships"...PeACe
 

[rik]

With Kobe on the squad US will win gold for sure.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

With Kobe on the squad US will win gold for sure.

Yea, all they really need is some leadership and defense, which Kobe will be sure to provide...His outside game wont hurt either.

[rik]

With Kobe on the squad US will win gold for sure.

Yea, all they really need is some leadership and defense, which Kobe will be sure to provide...His outside game wont hurt either.

Is Odom goin to be on that squad?

[suckaa free]

all the US Team needs is Rasheed and Ben Wallace, done deal.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

With Kobe on the squad US will win gold for sure.

Yea, all they really need is some leadership and defense, which Kobe will be sure to provide...His outside game wont hurt either.

Is Odom goin to be on that squad?

He should be...He only wasn't this year because of the tragedy with his son...He should be ready by 2008, which will make it so much more interesting to watch...PeACe

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

all the US Team needs is Rasheed and Ben Wallace, done deal.

I'm sorry man, but Rasheed and Ben don't fill any holes, especially Ben being a one dimensional player...They wouldn't make that big of a difference...PeACe

[GangstaBoogy]

Call me a hater if you want, but Team USA needs to cut Wade. He brings a lot of media hype because he's a superstar, but dude looked like he wasn't on the same page with everyone else. He caused too many turnovers while trying to do fancy passes.

Stoudemire + D.Howard + Lebron + Kobe + Chris Paul = Gold

[suckaa free]

all the US Team needs is Rasheed and Ben Wallace, done deal.

I'm sorry man, but Rasheed and Ben don't fill any holes, especially Ben being a one dimensional player...They wouldn't make that big of a difference...PeACe

those little cheap layups teams got on the US would not happen if Ben was in the paint.  plus offensive rebounds would be nice.  and thier are not many PF that can fuck with Rasheed with his inside game and long range capabilities of shooting the 3 ball.  imo, teams would not be able to score over 80 points if these 2 guys were playing.


*waiting for Now_I_Know to call me a "fucken idiot."    *

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

^^why would I call you a fuckin idiot?? you're being completely logical...I just think Ben Wallace is way too much of a liability on offense to play DREAM TEAM basketball...Rasheed Wallace is good, but Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard, Elton Brand, & Lamar Odom are currently a better fit...PeACe

[7even]

Bryant will improve the team, but they're making a huge mistake if they lay back now and wait for Bryant to save the day... they should've learned by now, really. They always had the greatest individual players and still got owned sometimes. Now they got another great individual player, duh.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Bryant will improve the team, but they're making a huge mistake if they lay back now and wait for Bryant to save the day... they should've learned by now, really. They always had the greatest individual players and still got owned sometimes. Now they got another great individual player, duh.

Kobe is a true floor leader, if you watch Laker games, you'd always see him being the most vocal on the court at all times...His game alone will add an extra dimension to the team, and his veteran experience is gunna top it off...They will gel when 24/7 hit the scene...PeACe

["THE" MoSav]

I hope hes right...