Following the Los Angeles Lakers' victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday, Ricky Rubio and Kobe Bryant were spotted in the hallways inside Target Center in Minneapolis engaging in a bit of smack talk regarding the upcoming London Olympics. Rubio and fellow countryman Pau Gasol were exchanging pleasantries when Kobe emerged from the Lakers' locker room and sidled up to inquire as to the subject of the two Spanish stars' conversation (via Star Tribune):
"You talking about London?" Bryant asked, referring to the Olympics later this year.
"Oh, yeah," Gasol replied.
Rubio asked Bryant if he would be there with Team USA. Bryant said yes, so then the Wolves rookie made a prediction: "You know you're getting the silver medal," Rubio said. "You know that."
"I'm taking bets," Bryant responded. "If I win, I get the keys to Barcelona."
Responded Rubio: "I bet what you want."
Bryant: "I'll take it."
While Rubio's boast that Spain might actually upend the star-studded U.S. team might seem a bit over-the-top at first, the fact that Spain (on a team that featured both Gasol and Rubio) narrowly lost at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the gold medal game by a score of 118-107 lends some credence to the possibility of the Spaniards actually pulling off what only should be considered a minor upset. But as far as offering up the keys to Barcelona are concerned, I'm not entirely certain Rubio has the authority to do such a thing. In fact, he might want to look into that as it’s not a stretch to think that Kobe is the kind of fierce competitor who would come looking and demand that Rubio honor the terms of their bet should the Americans end up victorious.
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