After a few close calls, the USA Men’s Basketball team emerged from the Olympics with gold medals hanging around their necks. While they entered the tournament as heavy favorites, they struggled early, squeaking by in games that they were expected to dominate. Through it all, Coach Mike Krzyzewski calmly steered the team through rough waters and emerged victoriously.
Coach K owes part of his national team success to recently-retired Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, who stepped up in the fourth quarter of the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and secured the gold medal for what was dubbed “The Redeem Team,” a squad put together to end the streak of losses that had occurred in three successive international competitions.