How Kobe Bryant’s Screen In 2008 Olmypic Gold Medal Match Served Statement To Pau Gasol

Fresh from a heartbreaking loss to the Boston Celtics in Game 6 of the 2008 NBA Finals, Kobe Bryant ran through every detail of flaw and seemed to reckon on ways to address it while Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett were all having a champagne bath inside the opposite locker room.

Two months later, Bryant was in China representing the USA in the Olympics where he faced his Lakers teammate Pau Gasol in the Gold Medal match against Spain.

With only a few minutes having played in the championship game, Bryant’s teammate LeBron James got stunned when Gasol hit the ground hard after Bryant “blew up” the Spanish big man by setting a bone-crunching screen.

Fast forward to 2020, just a few days removed following the tragic death of the LA legend, the real motive behind the strange play in Beijing was finally revealed.

As the Lakers gathered on Tuesday – the first time since the tragedy – members of the team, including James, took a trip down memory lane and recounted some of their fondest memories with Bryant.

Per Dave McMenamin of ESPN, James recalled the strange moment at the Olympics before Dr. Judy Seto, the Lakers' director of sports performance, unveiled that Bryant had calculated his screen as the former MVP was trying to send a statement to Gasol who was labeled soft after his subpar showing against the Celtics in the Finals.

“James recalled in amazement the moment, just a few possessions into the game when Bryant ‘blew up’ Gasol when he was setting a screen -- just ran straight through him, putting Gasol on the hardwood,” McMenamin shared. “James said his reaction at the time was along the lines of, ‘Oh, wow, you're going to have to play with this guy next season…’ "

“Bryant wasn't just trying to get in Gasol's head for the medal game, he was planting the seed for Gasol to obsess over what he needed to improve on for the upcoming season so that L.A. could win it all, which it did,” McMenamin wrote according to Seto. “To bring the point home further, Bryant hung his gold medal in Gasol's locker at the start of training camp the following fall,” he added.

Bryant had always been committed to his attention to detail that he knew how every piece of ploy would benefit him and his team. Certainly, his moves, and even that play that knocked off his big man, have yielded quick dividends for the Lakers who won back-to-back titles in the next two years, including a revenge against the Celtics in 2010.