Tyson Chandler was recently a guest on the All The Smoke podcast which is co-hosted by Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson. While on the show, the 2011 Champion decided to share an interesting story about Kobe Bryant. Tyson and Kobe were close and were often spotted together during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. On being asked about Kobe, Tyson told the co-hosts that Kobe was the ‘grumpy old man’ of the team. He even narrated a story where Kobe was angsty and angry as he had to attend an Olympic Village celebration, something that didn’t sit right with Kobe’s competitive ethos.
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The Olympic gold was a sign of things to come for Chandler. The 7-footer went on to win a championship with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011. He even got picked up for the 2012 Olympic squad, while also being a key member of the 2010 FIBA World Cup team.
Kobe Bryant wasn’t happy to attend the Olympic Village celebration
While on the No Smoke Podcast, Tyson Chandler was asked a variety of questions, as the big man has had the opportunity to play with a lot of greats. While on the subject of the 2012 Olympics, the Dallas big man said:
“Kobe was the star of stars man Kobe was on a different level man Everywhere we went. Like literally, I haven’t seen anything like that.“
The duo were teammates on the 2012 Olympic team, and would often sit next to each other during bus rides.
The NBA veteran decided to also narrate a story about Kobe, telling his co-hosts:
“Me and Kobe used to sit on the bus together. There was this thing at the Olympic Village that we had to attend. We are in the Olympic Village, athletes walking around. We must have been there 30-35 minutes. Kobe was sitting in the corner and looked angsty. So I decided to ask him ‘Yo, what’s up Killa.’ Kobe responded, ‘I gotta go man. I gotta go right now. I can’t be around all these athletes. It’s got my fu****g blood boiling. I don’t wanna see these motherf*****s before I have to play them.’“
Bryant’s clean sheet with Team USA
Team USA is no longer the clear favorite in each international tournament. Having recently lost to Germany in the semi-finals of the FIBA World Cup 2023, Team USA is definitely not what it used to be.
The Mamba himself never lost a single match during his campaign with the United States. Bryant went 36-0, cementing his legacy even further, and proving that N0.8 will always be remembered in the annals of basketball history.
