Lakers’ Bryant announces his confidence in Team USA taking home Olympic Gold

Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers’ point guard and last season’s MVP NBA scorer, announced Wednesday his complete confidence in FIBA’s Team USA in taking home the gold at the 2008 Olympics, according to a story published Sept. 5 on the Turkish Press Web site. Although the competition will be much more tough than what Team USA faced in the FIBA championship - especially in Beijing with home team China’s Houston Rockets’ all-star center Yao Ming and Milwaukee Bucks draft pick Yi Jianlin -Bryant stated that he believed that the current USA team could pull through with the amount of talent it possesses.
“We’re preparing for (the Olympics) like we were playing for the NBA finals,” Bryant said of Team USA, at a press conference in Manila, where he is currently promoting his new line of Nike sneakers, the Kobe II. “What we faced in FIBA is going to pale in comparison to the Olympics.” Bryant, who was asked his opinion on the status of Asian basketball, said he thought it was steadily improving, due mainly to players such Yao Ming, who he called “very talented” and “pretty special.” Team USA will go against a larger challenge than its 1992 predecessor, a group consisting of Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Michael Jordan that took home the gold and will be forever known as “The Dream Team.”  Bryant, however, is optimistic about U.S.’s chances and additionally optimistic about the season his home team, the Lakers, are facing this coming year. When asked if he would rather win the gold or an NBA championship, Bryant responded that he believed it was possible to obtain both. “I don’t have to choose one or the other,” Bryant said. “You focus on one thing at a time.” To snag your Lakers tickets for this season, visit Stubhub.com.

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