Late Kobe Bryant is a two-time Olympic Gold medalist. He won the prestigious tournament for the US at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the 2012 London Olympic Games. In the 2008 Olympics, Kobe faced off against his Spanish Laker teammate and HoF “brother”. Kobe’s HoF “brother” who boasts 3 Olympic medals (2 Silver, 1 Bronze) recently attended the International Athletes Forum 2023.

In a recent Instagram post, he talks about the event and what it really means to be an Olympian.

Kobe’s HoF “brother” inspires hundreds at the IAF 2023

In a recent Instagram post, NBA Hall of Famer Paul Gasol recently attended the IAF 2023, where he inspired hundreds of people with his words. He said in his post, “So many powerful moments we have shared during these days in Lausanne with my fellow athletes and athletes representatives during the #IAF2023.”.

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He further mentions, “On this Panel, we reflected about what being an Olympian means. A pleasure to have an amazing conversation with @lindseyvonn @allysonfelix #StrongerTogether.” Paul Gasol is a Spanish basketball legend. The Spaniard clinched the European Titles for Spain in 2009, 2011 and 2015. However, his decorated NBA career and achievements as an Olympian is what made him a global basketball icon.

In his NBA career, he played for the Los Angeles Lakers from 2007 to 2014. During this period, he and the late Kobe Bryant became  close friends. Their off-court friendship shone on the court through incredible basketball chemistry, which won them two NBA championships together (2008,2009).

However, during prestigious international competitions like the Olympics, the two Laker teammates did not hesitate to ‘destroy’ each other.

When the late Kobe Bryan trash-talked Argentinian basketball star at the Olympics

Before facing the mighty Spain in the finals, U.S.A’s “Redeem Team” faced against Argentina in the semi-finals of the 2008 Olympics. At one point in the game, the late Laker legend got into a heated verbal battle with Argentinian player Luis Scola. Since the Mamba was fluent in Spanish, he savagely trash talked the Argentinian star in Spanish.

However, he almost received a technical from the referee because of this. The Mamba was an elite trash talker and had the game to back it up so it wasn’t looking good for the Argentinian player. Kobe’s Olympics teammate LeBron James intervened and said, “Kobe all right now that’s enough. Let’s hoop.”.

This was enough for the Black Mamba to get back in the ‘zone’ and play the game of basketball. He respected LeBron and his work ethic for the game so he understood where LeBron was coming from.

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What are your thoughts on Paul Gasol’s recent Instagram post of the IAF 2023? Let us know in the comments below!