‘He was the missing link we needed’: LeBron honors Kobe during Redeem Team enshrinement

In what was a historic night for Lakers star Lebron James, as he, alongside friend and Clippers guard Chris Paul, became the first active players to be inducted in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the 22-year-old veteran took a moment to honor his former teammate, the late great Kobe Bryant.

James and Bryant were among the top stars who took home the gold medal in the 2008 Olympics after a disappointing bronze-medal finish four years earlier. 

Along with other members of the team, James gave credit to the late Lakers guard and his trademark “mamba mentality,” saying it was the missing piece they needed to erase the mediocrity of USA basketball in international play at that time.

“He was the missing link we needed in order to regain dominance with Team USA. He brought a sense of seriousness to the team. He made us lock in, and we knew once he joined and he was going to be committed that we couldn’t be doing nothing half a–. Kob wasn’t going for that. So, it made myself, CP (Chris Paul), D-Wade (Dwyane Wade), Melo (Carmelo Anthony) — we all locked in even more because we wanted to show him that we can get to that level as well,” James said.

James continued to cite Bryant as an influence throughout the whole tournament, specifically his championship pedigree. Bryant had won three championships with the Lakers before the tourney, while LeBron had only a Finals appearance on his resume. 

“It was just an honor to be out there with him. I was 23 years old, and being out on the floor with him, he had already won championships before and things of that nature. So, it was levels that I was trying to get to, and D-Wade had already won one. And so we just wanted to get to his level and make him proud. And by the end of that trip when we was hoisting that gold medal on top of that podium, we for sure made him proud,’ the star said.

LeBron looks back on Kobe’s impact as a teammate to help lift Team USA to gold in 2008.

The Redeem Team enters the Hall of Fame 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/DmDZ3AGVhn

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 7, 2025

Team USA went perfect in Beijing, capped off with a 118-107 victory against Spain. James recorded 15.5 points, 3,8 assists, and 5.3 rebounds, while Bryant tallied 15.0 points, 2.1 assists, and 2.8 boards, including clutch shots that opened the gap against his then-teammate Pau Gasol and Spain in the gold-medal game.

Following the Olympics, Bryant, who was also fueled by his loss against arch-rivals the Boston Celtics in the previous NBA Finals, led the Lakers to two consecutive titles, while James needed to wait until 2012 to capture his first Larry O’Brien trophy after moving to the Miami Heat and forming the “Big 3” with fellow Team USA teammates Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

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