High
Impact
Teams
By Lance Witt
The 2008 men’s US Olympic basketball
team was perhaps the best-ever group
of players to all wear the same uniform.
There is a well-known story that Dwayne
Wade and Chris Bosh tell about the
training camp for these celebrity athletes.
“We’re in Las Vegas and we all come
down for team breakfast at the start of
the whole training camp,” Bosh said. “And
Kobe comes in with ice on his knees and
with his trainers. He’s got sweat drenched
through his workout gear. And I’m like,
‘It’s 8 o’clock in the morning, man. Where
is he coming from?’” Wade added,
“Everybody else just woke up. . . . We’re
all yawning, and he’s already three hours
16 • Solutions
and a full workout into his day.”
One of the highest compliments ever paid
Kobe Bryant was by his basketball idol
Michael Jordan. Jordan said Kobe was
the only player to ever approach his own
work ethic. Even in high school, Kobe
would show up at the gym at 5:00 a.m.
and practice until 7:00 a.m. before going
to class.
As an NBA star, he was always the
first one to the gym, even when he was
hurt. During practice he would count all
his successful shots and wouldn’t quit
practice until he made four hundred