In the NBA, Kobe Bryant was probably as skilled as anybody else at making difficult contested shots. He regularly drilled shots with defenders all around him, ripping the heart out of the opponents and their supporters.
You’d assume that once he joined Team USA, his life would be simple because he would have access to more opportunities. According to Mike Krzyzewski, who guided the national team from 2005 to 2016, Kobe struggled to shoot threes when he was open because he was accustomed to not receiving them.
Mike said : “Kobe Bryant said, ‘Coach I never get a standstill three.’ I said, ‘You will get standstill threes.” He says, ‘I’m always double-teamed.’ (I said) ‘You won’t be double-teamed. You’re going to get open threes.’ Then all of a sudden he did and he didn’t hit ’em.”. “Then he’s in every night shooting 1,000 shots a night. That’s not an exaggeration.”
Players can occasionally miss shots because they are simply too open, and it appears that Kobe was one of those players. He wasn’t going to let it bother him for very long because of his work ethic and competitive spirit, so he went to the practise court to get better at it.
Krzyzewski was attempting to convince his Duke players that they should enjoy the gym and desire to go there frequently, much like Kobe.
The Exceptional Career of Kobe Bryant With Team USA
Kobe’s tenure with Team USA was practically flawless, despite some difficulties with making open threes. But it took him a long time to make his entrance. Although he had undoubtedly become a superstar in the early 2000s, his first outing with the national team wouldn’t occur until 2007. He contributed to Team USA’s victory in the FIBA Americas Championship that year.
In the Olympics in 2008 and 2012, Kobe Bryant helped Team USA win the gold medal by averaging 13.6 points per game, 2.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.3 blocks. After that, he retired with a perfect 26-0 record throughout three competitions. However, Kobe had also participated in 10 exhibition games, winning each one, giving him a final Team USA record of 36-0.
