Shaquille O’Neal Lays Out Kobe Bryant Motivation Ahead of Team USA’s Gold Medal Game vs France

Team USA mounted a 12-point fourth-quarter comeback against Serbia in the Men’s Olympic Semifinals in Paris to book their berth in the Gold medal game against France. The star-studded roster had to channel their Mamba Mentality in the final 10 minutes of the contest against Serbia to survive a sensational onslaught from Nikola Jokic and Co. Shaquille O’Neal wants more of the same from the team in the final as an ode to the late great Kobe Bryant.

Shaq recently shared a post highlighting the correlation between the date of the Gold medal match and the late great Lakers icon.

Team USA and Team France will go head-to-head for the Gold on August 10th, 2024, which when written numerically (8-10-24) are the jersey numbers Bryant wore throughout his professional career.

Shaq’s made his message clear for Team USA pic.twitter.com/cjKo41HOkA

— What are (W)NBA Celebs Upto? (@NBACelebsUpdate) August 9, 2024

Bryant won three NBA championships with the Lakers in the #8 jersey and two in the #24. He wore #10 when he represented Team USA in the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship, 2008 Beijing Olympics, and the 2012 London Olympics.

The guard led the country to victory in all three events. He played 36 games for the national team and went a perfect 36-0. O’Neal wants Team USA to ensure that they do not fumble the ball on a day as auspicious as August 10th.

The Superteam would want the Final against Team France to go much smoother than their semifinal against Team Serbia did. They trailed by as many as 17 points and were on the verge of suffering the most shocking loss in Olympic basketball history.

However, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Joel Embiid’s exceptional fourth-quarter effort ensured that they averted the unexpected setback. But the Gold medal game won’t be easy.

Team France is gunning for revenge against Team USA after their silver medal finish at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Victor Wembanyama and Co. will have a raucous home crowd backing them to take down one of the most stacked international rosters ever assembled.

They’ve already pulled off one upset. In the semifinal, the French team defeated the reigning FIBA World Cup Champions, Germany to ensure a second-straight medal finish in the Olympics. However, they’ll be aiming higher.

Team USA often enjoys more support than their opponents in every game. However, that won’t be the case at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Saturday. They’ll perhaps have to tap into their inner Mamba Mentality to continue the nation’s gold medal streak, which began when Bryant led the Redeem Team to victory in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.