Don't let his offensive numbers fool you, Kobe Bryant has been key in Team USA's victories. While Dwyane Wade and LeBron James have shouldered the load offensively, Bryant has been the team's defensive stopper, or as he says, "The Doberman".

 Kobe is quite possibly the best defensive player in the NBA , when you consider that he must also perform on the offensive end. (Imagine what a great defender Kobe would be if he focused solely on his defense and his team didn't need him to run the offense as well.)

With Team USA's arsenal of offensive players, Kobe can focus on shutting down the opposing team's best player, and so far he's done his job.

Last year Bryant shut down Leandro Barbosa of Brazil in the Tournament of the Americas and then this year he made Sarunas Jasikevicius of Lithuanina look like a JV girls basketball player. Kobe's defense, as well as team defense is what was missing from the Olympic teams that failed earlier this decade. If Team USA can continue to pride itself on its stingy defense and not acrobatic dunks they will be wearing gold around their necks come late August rather than that ugly Bronze color they brought home four years ago.