Why Sirianni showed Eagles a Kobe video before Washington game

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Nick Sirianni was on the team bus Saturday watching college football, when he began scrolling through his phone.

Then he saw it.

A promo video for the upcoming Netflix documentary “The Redeem Team” about the 2008 United States mens’ basketball team, featuring the late Kobe Bryant.

Sirianni’s message to his team all week was already about competing and then this fell into his lap on the way to Washington for the Eagles’ Week 3 game.

“That video pops up,” Sirianni said. “I’m like, man, this is like the perfect video for tonight to add to it. It was a two-minute clip. But it was a perfect video to add to the story that I was telling there.”

In the video, LeBron James and Dwayne Wade explain that Bryant told them exactly how he was going to set the tone in their group play game against Spain. Bryant was known as the ultimate competitor and wanted to send a message when the US faced off against Spain, widely considered their biggest competition.

Bryant was ready to set the tone, even if it meant taking down Pau Gasol, his Lakers teammate who was like a brother to him.

James said Bryant told him he planned to run “through Pau’s f— chest” as Gasol set a screen.

And he did.

(Warning: Video features NSFW language)

The US crushed Spain in that group play game 119-82. Eventually, they saw Spain again in the Gold Medal game and won 118-107.

“It did fit pretty well,” Sirianni said. “Pau Gasol is my brother, Pau Gasol is my teammate, Pau Gasol I love him, but I'm running through that guy's chest, right? It was a cool video. I think it fit really well this weekend to say that we're the ultimate competitors.”

Of course, this message was particularly fitting this past Sunday, when the Eagles faced off against the Commanders and former Eagles starting quarterback Carson Wentz.

Before the game, Eagles like Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham chatted and caught up with Wentz. When the game started, they ran through him, sacking him nine times.

“You don't just get a guy to be an ultimate competitor,” Sirianni said. “The prerequisite of getting on this football team was to be an ultimate competitor, so those guys have it in them. I was just reminding them of it.”

The Eagles have a long history with the late Bryant, who was an Eagles fan and even spoke to the 2017 team that December, just before their Super Bowl run began.

Sirianni said someone pointed out to him that the final score on Sunday in Washington was 24-8, the two jersey numbers Bryant wore during his NBA career.

This was just the second 24-8 game in NFL history. The other came three years before Bryant was born.

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