Deron Williams, Kobe, LeBron and other happy campers
NBA teams usually try to prepare for their seasons at fall camps, but five key members of the “Redeem Team” held their own summer camp prior to the Beijing Olympics.
All of the camping sites in the Chinese woods must have been full of Cub Scouts and Brownies, reforming 70-year-olds and kids with crooked teeth, because Deron Williams, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul and Dwight Howard all ended up hunkering down with their fire, marshmallow sticks and tents in a Hollywood studio with a cheesy outdoor set instead.
The gold medalists didn’t have to fill up any jugs with their garden hose or stop at the convenience store for water bottles before bravely facing dangerous wildlife and embarking on their wilderness adventure, either. Their camping trip so happened to take place at the same time and place as a Vitamin Water family reunion/campout.
Ah, what they won’t do for ads, er, adventure….
From the looks of it, these NBA players’ pre-Olympic bonding camp was about as challenging as some of those (cough-cough) “rough camps” some city-dwelling girls have been known to go on and complain about. You know, the ones with propane microwaves, comfy cabins and heated showers. Ahem.
Anyway, the extra clips and outtakes from this Vitamin Water ad shoot offer an interesting look at some interactions between the players. Chris Paul and the ukelele-sporting Deron Williams are engaging in a couple of clips. I also like the rubber snake by Kobe’s feet and the bunny by Williams.
CP3 jokes that he wouldn’t want to face a bear with D-Will, because Williams is faster and the bear might catch him instead. Williams said he would just climb up on the 6-foot-11 Dwight Howard and let the bear attack his tall Team USA teammate and commercial-making pal.
Paul also had a funny line about which player he’d least like to share a tent with. His answer: LeBron James because he has “a terrible stomach.”
P.S. This blog was not sponsored by Vitamin Water. I’ll even glug down a Gatorade to prove it if you want.