The Kobe Bryant-led Los Angeles Lakers were given a second lease on life in the post-Shaq years when they were able to trade for Pau Gasol. The Spanish big man was the perfect complement to Kobe and together, the two won back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010. Very few teams were able to slow Kobe and Pau down in Phil Jackson’s triangle offense, but Tony Allen, with his suffocating defense, was one of them.
Advertisement
Allen was a leading member of the “Grit and Grind” Grizzlies, who were known for their physical play and relentless nature. He made two First Team All-Defensive teams, and was cited by Kobe as the best defender he ever played against.
Kobe tried everything to beat Allen, including speaking in a different language. Allen told a story on a recent live episode of his Out the Mud podcast about how Kobe, when he sensed that Allen was denying him the ball by overplaying him, would speak Spanish to Pau in an attempt to get loose.
“When he used to see me overplaying, he used to start speaking in Spanish, like ‘Ja, amigo, da da da.’ I’m like, ‘Bro, I know you’re setting up your backdoor, are you OK?'”
Allen shouted out his old Spanish teacher Miss Middlebrooks, who was in the live audience for his podcast, for helping give him that edge, although his Spanish is clearly not where it should be by her standards.
Kobe Bryant amazed opponents with ability to speak multiple languages
Most NBA fans know the story of how Kobe grew up in Italy due to his father, Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, playing there professionally. They also know him as one of the most intelligent and cerebral players to ever play. Fluent in multiple languages, his ability to connect to fans around the world in their own language was proof of that.
Kobe’s former teammate Robert Horry once described how Kobe learned Spanish so that he could connect with the large Latino population in Los Angeles. Horry tried to learn himself but gave up after about a week.
“Kobe was one of those types of people that if you told him he couldn’t do something, or if he challenged himself to do something, it was gonna get done,” Horry said. Sure enough, he did, and he later used it on the court.
The game has become more international, but Kobe probably didn’t go against many guys that could use his linguistic talents against him. Allen was just that good, though. Fittingly, by the time their careers ended, Kobe and Allen had identical records against each other of 12-12 in the regular season and 5-5 in the playoffs.
