On Saturday, the induction ceremony for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s class of 2025 was held. Former Los Angeles Lakers players Dwight Howard and Carmelo Anthony were inducted, and so was the 2008 “Redeem Team” that won back the gold medal for Team USA men’s basketball at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

That Olympic team had an embarrassment of riches that included Howard and Anthony, as well as LeBron James and late Lakers great Kobe Bryant. Bryant was the difference on the team, as it rebounded from only winning the bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics.

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After 2004, USA Basketball was in bad shape, but Bryant, as well as new coach Mike Krzyzewski, turned things around. James was present for Saturday’s ceremony, and he talked about how Bryant changed things for Team USA.

“I think he was just the missing link that we needed in order to regain our dominance with Team USA. He brought a sense of seriousness to the team. He made us lock in, and we knew once he joined and he was going to be committed, that we couldn’t be doing nothing half-assed. Kob’ wasn’t going for that. So it made myself, CP (Chris Paul), D-Wade (Dwyane Wade), Melo, we all locked in even more ’cause we wanted to show him that we could get to that level as well. It was just an honor to be out there with him. I was 23 years old, and being out on the floor with him, he had already won championships before and things of that nature, so it was levels that I was trying to get to. D-Wade had already won one, so we just wanted to get to his level and make him proud. By the end of that trip, when we was hoisting that gold medal on top of that podium, we for sure made him proud.”

Bryant went into “Black Mamba” mode in the gold medal game versus Spain and made a number of key baskets and plays down the stretch to secure the win for the United States. It was his first go-around with Team USA, and his teammates gained a new level of respect for him after being around him on a regular basis.

Bryant also won a second gold medal with Team USA at the 2012 Summer Olympics. But that year, he stepped back a bit and let James, who had just won his first NBA championship, take the reins as the leader.

James, of course, got his third gold medal last summer alongside Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. He said earlier this summer that he doesn’t see himself playing in the 2028 Olympics, which will be held in Los Angeles.

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This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: LeBron James: Kobe Bryant was ‘missing link’ for 2008 USA Olympic team