The story of the Redeem Team is one of basketball\u2019s greatest tales. Beyond their on-court dominance in Beijing, the group of NBA legends had plenty of fun on their way to the Olympics and during the event itself. Michael Redd, a member of that storied squad, recently shared a tale involving Kobe Bryant.<\/p>\n
Bryant was just one of the star names on the Team USA roster that summer. There was Dwyane Wade, LeBron James<\/a>, Carmelo Anthony, and many more, as the USA aimed to bounce back from a Bronze finish in 2004 and a non-podium FIBA World Cup finish by winning gold. But The Mamba was the glue that shaped the culture of that team.<\/p>\n Redd, a one-time All-Star, reflected on that special Olympic unit in a new video on his YouTube channel. While he shared a story about Kobe, it didn\u2019t involve basketball. Instead, it centered on the great game of dominoes.<\/p>\n Redd recalled how he taught Bryant how to play Dominoes during their flight to China. \u201cMe and Tayshaun were like, \u2018Let\u2019s just play dominoes.\u2019 Kobe was like, \u2018Let me learn.\u2019 One thing about him is that he was very curious about life. Very curious about different things. He had never played dominoes. So I am teaching him how to play dominoes the way that it was taught to me, shout out to Gary Payton,\u201d said Redd.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, we took advantage of him because it was one of the rare times you could take advantage of him in something. But he was there, and he learned. He was very curious,\u201d the former Milwaukee Bucks guard added. That\u2019s a perfect representation of the type of man Kobe was. Why? Well, Redd would explain that it wasn\u2019t about dominoes. It was about getting close to his teammates.<\/p>\n \u201cBeyond dominoes, aspects of things. I think Kobe was trying, and doing a great job, of ingratiating himself with us,\u201d added<\/a> Redd.<\/p>\n You can tell it meant a lot to Redd and the other guys. Besides, Kobe was not much of a betting man, at least not the way his idol, Michael Jordan, was<\/a>. If it had been MJ, he would have become an expert at dominoes and taken those kids for everything they were worth.<\/p>\n That\u2019s not to say that Bryant never bet.<\/p>\n Bryant\u2019s experience in betting<\/p>\n Bryant wasn\u2019t MJ when it came to drawing cards or placing bets, but he once slapped former teammate Samaki Walker<\/a> over one. Seven-time NBA champion Robert Horry revealed this during an older appearance on All the Smoke.<\/p>\n