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Kobe's Connection To Languages

On January 26, 2020, global basketball superstar Kobe Bryant died tragically at the age of 41 in a helicopter crash in Los Angeles with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna among seven other people. Kobe Bryant is considered one of the top basketball players in the NBA’s history, In his NBA career, Kobe Bryant won 5 championships with the LA Lakers, earned an NBA record 15 selections for All-NBA teams and 12 for All-Defensive teams. He has also led the league in scoring twice, won the Slam Dunk challenge and got 4 All-Star Game MVPs in 18 appearances. He won his Season MVP in 2007-08, won the Finals MVP in the next two years and the list of his achievements goes on.
News of Kobe’s death shocked the world and when his death was confirmed, social media exploded with countless fans' tributes to Kobe’s sudden death, alongside tributes from his friends, NBA current and former players, and even president Donald Trump. His impact both on and off the court was undeniable, with Kobe acting as an inspiration for boys and girls around the world. Other than his philanthropy and his character, Kobe was renowned for his on court competitive spirit and will to win. This is no better exemplified than in Kobe’s relationship to language.
Besides being completely fluent in English and Italian, Kobe learned words in Bosnian, Serbian, Spanish, and French in order to be able to trash talk his rivals and get into their heads by talking in their native language. He once swore at Jusuf Nurkic in Bosnian, trash talked Tony Parker in French, Andrea Bargnani in Italian, and sweared in Spanish towards Marc Gasol.
It’s obviously clear that he was very serious about his competitiveness if he was willing to go all the way to learn how to trash talk in 5 different languages besides English in order to get into his rivals’ heads.

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