Mike Krzyzewski reminisces over Mamba moment w/ Team USA

Kobe Bryant fashioned his basketball persona around the black mamba, a highly venomous snake known for its aggressive nature and quick-strike ability.

It can certainly be said that Bryant was the black mamba of the NBA, with five rings, 18 all-star appearances, two scoring titles, and a league MVP to his name. He was also quite a player for Team USA in the Olympics, though. Bryant brought the same steely nature to the USA Olympic teams in 2008 and 2012, so much so that former Team USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski remembers clearly a time Kobe went "black mamba" for his country.

“With Kobe, I was very close with Kobe. He played with our ‘Redeem Team’ in ‘08 and our team in London in ‘12. He was the most prepared of any player I’ve ever, ever seen. I call him an alien. He’s just different, and beautiful, and absolutely beautiful," Krzyzewski said on a recent podcast appearance (h/t 247Sports).

"He’d come early for that Redeem Team thing. He showed up two days early and he met with me and said, ‘I want you to do me a favor’ and I said, ‘Yeah, what is it.’ And he said, ‘I want to guard the best perimeter player on any team we’re playing.’ And then he paused and he had those eyes. He leans forward and he said, ‘I’ll promise you, I’ll destroy him.’ If I was a general manager, I would have brought a contract right there and had him sign it.”

Kobe won Gold in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics while playing with Team USA, as well as the 2007 Tournament of the Americas. His Team USA squads were a perfect 36-0.

There are similar Kobe stories from coaches and players across the world of basketball. He is a legend not just because of what he was able to do on the court, but the mindset he carried in practice and every day. The "mamba mentality" has left a lasting legacy to the sport. 

Kobe Bryant passed away in a helicopter accident in late January of 2020.