Kobe Bryant, as talented a player as he was, always seemed to perform better when the stakes were higher. Bryant has played some incredibly high-level basketball in some of the biggest games in NBA history. But when the stakes were not as high as Kobe wanted, he would try to raise the stakes by himself.
A young Ricky Rubio found this out ahead of the 2012 London Olympics. Kobe, who was the elder statesman of Team USA, met Ricky Rubio, and the two bantered about playing in the Olympics against each other. Kobe Bryant hilariously remarked, "If I win, I get the keys to Barcelona".
Kobe would go on to find great success at the 2012 London Olympics. He would lead Team USA as one of the senior players on an incredible run, as they defeated Rubio and Spain to win the Olympic Gold Medal for the second year in a row. There is no word on whether Bryant actually got the keys to Barcelona, but he would have been thrilled about the gold medal nonetheless.
Kobe Bryant loved a good wager, and it only seemed to make him better. Bryant once made a bet with a reporter that he could make a half-court shot with just his left hand. Bryant won the bet, and as a result, the reporter was forced to do 200 push-ups because he lost the bet.
Bryant's competitive spirit was the stuff of legend, as he would fight till the end for what he wanted. Bryant's incredible talent alone was enough to strike fear into opposition players. But when Bryant was motivated and hungry to win, he was almost unstoppable, and no one could do anything to try and slow him down.
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