The story of the Redeem Team is one of basketball’s greatest tales. Beyond their on-court dominance in Beijing, the group of NBA legends had plenty of fun on their way to the Olympics and during the event itself. Michael Redd, a member of that storied squad, recently shared a tale involving Kobe Bryant.
Advertisement
Bryant was just one of the star names on the Team USA roster that summer. There was Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and many more, as the USA aimed to bounce back from a Bronze finish in 2004 and a non-podium FIBA World Cup finish by winning gold. But The Mamba was the glue that shaped the culture of that team.
Redd, a one-time All-Star, reflected on that special Olympic unit in a new video on his YouTube channel. While he shared a story about Kobe, it didn’t involve basketball. Instead, it centered on the great game of dominoes.
Redd recalled how he taught Bryant how to play Dominoes during their flight to China. “Me and Tayshaun were like, ‘Let’s just play dominoes.’ Kobe was like, ‘Let me learn.’ One thing about him is that he was very curious about life. Very curious about different things. He had never played dominoes. So I am teaching him how to play dominoes the way that it was taught to me, shout out to Gary Payton,” said Redd.
“Obviously, we took advantage of him because it was one of the rare times you could take advantage of him in something. But he was there, and he learned. He was very curious,” the former Milwaukee Bucks guard added. That’s a perfect representation of the type of man Kobe was. Why? Well, Redd would explain that it wasn’t about dominoes. It was about getting close to his teammates.
“Beyond dominoes, aspects of things. I think Kobe was trying, and doing a great job, of ingratiating himself with us,” added Redd.
You can tell it meant a lot to Redd and the other guys. Besides, Kobe was not much of a betting man, at least not the way his idol, Michael Jordan, was. If it had been MJ, he would have become an expert at dominoes and taken those kids for everything they were worth.
That’s not to say that Bryant never bet.
Bryant’s experience in betting
Bryant wasn’t MJ when it came to drawing cards or placing bets, but he once slapped former teammate Samaki Walker over one. Seven-time NBA champion Robert Horry revealed this during an older appearance on All the Smoke.
“We would make little bets,” stated Horry. “One day, Samaki made a bet with Kobe, and Samaki didn’t pay because Samaki was new to the team. Kobe kept asking, one day, two days. ‘You don’t give me my money, I’m gonna smack you across the head.'”
“As Kobe was walking past him on the bus, he was like, ‘Samaki, you got my money? Naw mother f***** I ain’t got yo mother f****** money stop asking me.’ Smacked the s*** out him.”
Stories like these remind us that Kobe’s greatness went far beyond his scoring and championships. Whether it was learning dominoes to bond with teammates or holding guys accountable in his own fiery way, he always demanded connection and respect.
The Redeem Team needed that edge, and Kobe delivered it in every possible form. In the end, those small moments off the court were just as important as the gold medal they brought home. Rightly so, the entire team was recently inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
