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USA BASKETBALL, AND more specifically Kobe Bryant, had a lot of fun celebrating their record-setting, 83-point throttling of Nigeria last week, according to the London Times.

The story is behind a paywall but Sporting News pulled out some nuggets (via Yardbarker).

As the London Times story goes, Kobe and a few of his teammates decided to celebrate their big win by going to a casino near Olympic Stadium.

“Kobe Bryant, the $50 million U.S. basketball player, challenged a group of … volunteers, known as the Games Makers, to a drinking contest when he and his teammates visited a casino next to the Olympic Park.”

[...]

“They took on a group of Games Makers, who were regulars at the casino. One said that the 6ft 6in Bryant ordered a round of three shots: gin, brandy and tequila. The rest were hazy on how much was drunk and by whom.”

Clearly just good times had by all.

Especially Kobe, who’s gotten extra media attention for his off-the-court activities during these games, namely being photographed hanging out shirtless at a club with women other than his wife and sitting in the stands with Australian swimmer Stephanie Rice.

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