The basketball world continues to remember Kobe Bryant, the NBA legend who passed away in a tragic helicopter crash on Jan. 26. Recently, during the NBA’s annual All-Star weekend, NBA commissioner Adam Silver recounted a conversation he had with Dallas Mavericks player Luka Doncic about Bryant’s Slovenian trash-talking skills.
“Luka Doncic told me recently that he was being trash-talked courtside at a Lakers’ game earlier in the season,” Silver said, during a recent press conference, per the Dallas Mavericks’ official website. “He looked over and there was Kobe (talking) in Slovenian trash-talking him with his wonderful daughter, Gigi, by his side.”
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This fun-natured ribbing between the two athletes occurred when the Mavericks faced the Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 29, about a month before the untimely deaths of Bryant, his daughter Gianna Bryant, and seven other victims.
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Elsewhere in his press conference, Silver continued to remember Bryant fondly.
“Kobe, in his post-playing career, we got to be particularly close. In fact, when we were in Los Angeles two years ago, there’s this tech conference we’ve been doing for 20 years now at All-Star games,” the commissioner said. “Kobe spoke about his love of storytelling and a reminder to all of us in the business how important it is to tell those stories to bring these players to life and to help people understand the game. Then, two weeks after that presentation at our technology summit, he actually won an Academy Award for storytelling for his short on Dear Basketball.”
In addition to Silver’s comments about Bryant, many in the NBA community have issued tributes to the late basketball star on social media, including Doncic.
“Not you!! RIP mamba! thank you for everything you showed and did for the world!!” Doncic wrote alongside a photo of him and Bryant.
Doncic also honored Gianna on Instagram by posting a lovely photo of him and the 13-year-old posing on the basketball court.
“RIP,” he wrote alongside a slew of heartbroken emojis. “this day should never exist!! we gotta appreciate every day we get!”
The Mavericks star also highlighted the tribute he gave to both Bryant and his daughter while he was on the court. On Instagram, he showcased his footwear, which featured the words “RIP Kobe” and “RIP Gigi” on them alongside the father-daughter pair’s jersey numbers of 2, 8, and 24.
“by far the hardest game i ever had to play!! still can’t believe it!! always with us!” Doncic wrote.
Photo Credit: Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images
