In 2019, Kobe Bryant Warned Team USA to Not ‘Get Comfortable’; Two Years Later, Their Struggles Highlight the Mamba’s Prophetic Words

It doesn’t seem very long ago when Kobe Bryant was named the global ambassador for the FIBA World Cup 2019, Beijing, China. In his stellar 20-year career, Kobe was not only a superstar in the NBA but also in the USA’s national team. Apart from his five NBA championships, he was part of Team USA that brought 2 gold medals home from the Olympic Games.

Since the Tokyo Olympic games are in full force, one can’t help but reminisce on the commercial that came out when Kobe had become the ambassador. It encompassed Kobe’s competitive personality beautifully, who was seen challenging all the great teams that were coming to play against each other.

It started off with, “World, I have been watching you.” And then Kobe began calling out countries all over.

“Brazil, Beautiful! Spain, you got one, is that enough… That’s what I thought. Okay Australia, I can feel your passion all the way from here. Yo France! I know you want it. You just love giving everybody a hard time, don’t you? Hello China, you showed me love, now show me some game. And all of you, the FIBA Basketball World Cup is right here. You want it? Come and get it. And USA… Don’t get comfortable.”

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Team USA letting Kobe Bryant down?

The impact Kobe had on the growing popularity of the sport and in inspiring thousands of athletes made him a perfect fit for the role. However, it seems like Team USA isn’t doing justice to the legacy Kobe left behind.

Not only did they have disappointing losses in the preparation games, but they also lost to France in the Tokyo Games. With Kevin Durant and Damian Lillard headlining the men’s basketball team, expectations were sky high, and yet they have been on the losing end since the Games began.

And now that we’ve even seen Slovenia play, the USA needs to buck up if they want to compete against someone like Luka Doncic. Will they be able to pick up the slack from here and do better? Or has Kobe’s worst fear come to life and USA has got too comfortable?

READ MORE: ‘Didn’t Believe I Was One of Those Guys’: Kevin Durant Shares His Experience of Playing Alongside Kobe Bryant and LeBron James at 2007 Olympics