Kobe – Titles are no longer automatic for Team USA



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BEIJING – Kobe Bryant thinks that the US team may have to get used to the new reality of losing in big events.

Bryant was arguably part of the second largest American team in history, after the original Dream Team of 1992. The "Redeem Team" led by Bryant in 2008 and who won gold at the Olympics of Beijing is held in high esteem. He was at the beginning of a series of 58 tournament wins for Americans. The defeat against France was broken this week.

Back in the same arena Friday when his big fourth quarter won gold 11 years ago against Spain, Bryant said the national team this summer would not have need to be exchanged next year at the Tokyo Olympics.

"It's not that the rest of the world is catching up with the United States, it's that the rest of the world is caught up for some time," said Bryant at the Wukesong Sports Center. "And at the point where we in the United States are going to win, we're losing, and that's how it goes."

The Americans did not participate in the World Cup semi-finals, but Bryant did not participate in Friday Night, and they will not play Sunday, during the distribution of the title. Instead, they will play in the lowest match of the weekend, the seventh match of Saturday afternoon against Poland.

But Bryant rejected the idea that the struggles of the US team in China can be attributed to the best players who chose not to play this summer and that everything will be fine if the front line re-engages and returns to Japan next July.

"I often hear that:" Did we send the best possible team we could train? "Said Bryant.

"You have to remember that the Redeem team needed a fourth quarter to beat Spain – it was an amazing team." We still needed a late push for beat Spain in this game for the gold medal. I say that to say to put the best players that you think will form the best American team on the field, we will always have challenges to take up. It will not be a defeat, they're gone, so it's going to be tough. "

Bryant has played three times with the United States team and has never lost a match. He won the 2007 FIBA ​​Americas title, then gold at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games in London. He has played several times in his career because of injuries and for personal reasons, as in 2000, when he had spent the Sydney Olympics because he was getting married.

With this understanding, Bryant said that American stars who had decided not to play this summer had their reasons and he supported them.

"Some of these guys did not have the opportunity to play for the United States, so I'm sure if their health had allowed them to do that, they would certainly have played here," he said. said Bryant in an interview with ESPN.

"But many of these types suffer serious injuries and are trying to find a solution to get back to health and get 100% health again." Other types are moving, moving to different cities and forcing their families to settle down. . " It's a big fit for families, so I certainly understand it. "

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