LAS VEGAS (AP) — There’s something that Kobe Bryant once said that has stuck with U.S. men’s Olympic basketball coach Steve Kerr and seems especially important now.
It was about how other nations have made big strides in basketball, how the gap between the rest of the world and the U.S. is closing and how that’s been a great thing for the NBA. And Bryant’s response, paraphrased, was basically, “so what?”
His point: If everyone else is getting better, then the U.S. better find ways to do the same.
“Maybe we’ll show that one to the guys,” Kerr said. “I love that. And it has to be our attitude this summer.”
After months of planning, it’s time for the U.S. Olympic team — one that will go to the Paris Games later this month seeking a fifth consecutive gold medal — to take the floor. The first practice for the squad is Saturday, the start of a four-day training camp before its exhibition opener against Canada on Wednesday.
Players began arriving Thursday in Las Vegas; Stephen Curry was the first to check in for camp, perhaps underscoring how anxious he is for what will be his first Olympics. The 12 players have all known each other for years, but the task of becoming a team starts in earnest Saturday.
“I feel like it starts when it gets there, because that’s when you really…
