Lakers Video: Kobe Bryant Recalls Motivating Pau Gasol Before 2008-09 Season

Corey Hansford
1 Min Read

It is well known that Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol are great friends now stretching back from their time together as Los Angeles Lakers teammates from 2008-2013. Bryant’s reputation as a tough teammate is well deserved and he gave another example of that.

In an interview with Andrea Kremer for HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, Bryant recalled the story of hanging up his gold medal in Gasol’s locker on the first day of training camp before the 2008-09 season.

Kobe wanted to remind Gasol that he had been a runner-up twice in the previous year after losing in both the Finals and the Gold Medal game of the Olympics. As Bryant noted, they would win back-to-back championships after, so it apparently worked.

This is just another example of Kobe pushing his teammates to get the best out of them. He wanted to motivate Pau the best way he knew how and it ultimately worked.

Corey Hansford is the Senior Editor for Lakers Nation, as well as a contributor for Dodger Blue, Rams News Wire, and Raiders News Wire. He is a passionate follower of the Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chelsea FC, and the UFC. He can usually be seen arguing the merits of Kobe Bryant or cursing the decisions of Jerry Jones. He is also a former producer and associate producer for Sirius XM Sports Radio on both the Fantasy Sports Channel and College Sports Nation. Proud graduate of Long Beach Poly High School and The Real HU, Howard University, with a degree in Broadcast Journalism. Follow him on all social media outlets at @TheeCoreyH.