Kobe Bryant’s influence shines brightly in ‘Redeem Team’ Netflix documentary

LOS ANGELES — Kobe Bryant loved Pau Gasol like a brother.

But Bryant loved winning more.

His teammates on the 2008 U.S. men’s basketball team saw that up close as they prepared to play Gasol and Spain in the Olympics in Beijing. Bryant knew in America’s first meeting with Spain that the Spanish team would start the game with a play that required Gasol to set a screen on him.

Bryant let his Olympic teammates know he’d show his “brother” no mercy.

“First play of the game, I’m running through Pau Gasol,” Bryant said.

No one believed he’d do that. And then he said it again.

“I’m running through that motherf—-r,”

According to Dwyane Wade, Bryant said and did just that. It’s one of the more riveting moments captured in “The Redeem Team,” a documentary that will be available Friday on Netflix.

The overall story is about the redemption of USA Basketball after the 2004 Olympics in Athens, where the team won the bronze medal. That team included such veterans as Allen Iverson and Tim Duncan and youngsters LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Carlos Boozer and Wade, who became punchlines after their third-place finish in Athens and subsequent shortcomings in international competition.

The story of the 2008 squad, dubbed the Redeem Team, is compelling in itself. The tale of Bryant, who died in January 2020 in a helicopter crash, stands out in the documentary.