During his heyday, Michael Redd was one of the NBA’s deadliest marksmen, capable of scoring from anywhere on the court. As Team USA was getting ready to reclaim the throne in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China, they turned to Redd, who was coming off back-to-back seasons, scoring over 25 points per game and shooting nearly 40 percent from rainbow country.

Mamba mentality

Already 28 years old at that time, the lefty gunner was one of the team’s veterans, and as such, he wanted to set an excellent example to the younger players by getting up early in the morning to work out. However, as he got to the gym, he realized another player already had a good sweat going: Kobe Bryant.

“I figured I’d get in there early and lead by example for the younger guys. I get to the gym, and Kobe Bryant is already there, working hard, drenched in sweat.” Redd shared.

Bryant was famous for his insane work ethic, which was no different on that fateful day in Beijing. Michael watched in awe as the Lakers legend went through an intense workout, pushing himself to the limit.

As he looked up and saw his teammate, Redd shared that all Kobe did was ask, “Where have you been?”

He different

As the other Redeem Team members would also realize, Kobe was built differently. As the team prepared for their Olympic campaign, they spent much time in Las Vegas, where they had their training camp. This allowed the younger players like Carlos Boozer and Dwyane Wade to go out and party at night.

“We’re in Vegas, we’re training and all of that, and you know, we wanna go out. So we all go out, everybody but Kob,” Carlos Boozer said.

“Come back to the hotel about 5:30 or 6 in the morning, and guess who’s in the lobby on his way to the gym?”

Wade and LeBron James were just as surprised to see Kobe already working out just while they were winding down from a party.

“And in my mind, I’m like, ‘What the f**k?'” D-Wade recalled.

“This motherf***er Kobe was already drenched in sweat and we was like, ‘Yeah, he different,'” LeBron added.