The Lakers were in Minnesota Sunday night as part of their Grammys road trip (the event that kicks them and the Clippers out of Staples Center for a couple of weeks) and that means Spanish friends and teammates Ricky Rubio and Pau Gasol were hanging out talking in the hall after the game.
Then Kobe Bryant walked past, congratulated Rubio, as Marca.com caught on tape. Then they started talking (as transcribed by Hoopshype).
Gasol: “Oh yeah.”
Rubio: “You’re gonna be there?”
Kobe: “Yeah.”
Rubio: “You know you’re getting the silver medal. You know that.”
Kobe: "[expletive]. I’m taking bets! [laughs] If I win I get the keys of Barcelona.”
Rubio: “I bet what you want.”
Kobe: “I take it!”
Bring it on.
Kobe and Team USA beat Spain in the gold medal game four years ago in Beijing (118-107), with Kobe taking over late. These two teams are favored to meet again (anything else might be a disappointment) but Spain will have what should be a better team with a more mature Rubio and Marc Gasol, plus they have added Serge Ibaka.
And Spain has a little swagger after winning EuroBasket last summer. This is going to be fun.