Portland Trailblazers center Jusuf Nurkic is playing at such a high level this season that one can't help but wonder if he'll ascend into becoming a truly elite NBA player in no time.
For Nurkic's part, he's learned a lot from his experience playing with the best basketball players in the NBA. He even had an opportunity to play against one of the league's all-time greats in Kobe Bryant before the legendary Laker retired in 2016.
But instead of picking up some tools of the trade from Bryant, Nurkic received what might be an even better gift from the five-time champion: a good story to tell.
With the Blazers visiting the LA Clippers on Tuesday, Nurkic took some time off prior to the game for an interview with Neil Everett on SportsCenter. During the show, the seven-footer recalled how Bryant once surprised him with a diss using his native Bosnian tongue (per Dane Delgado of NBC Sports).
“He’s shooting the free throws (Kobe), and I’m out there like: ‘Nobody can even touch him, how is that possible?' Whole night he was shooting free throws.
He actually said a word in my language. I’m I was like, ‘I didn’t really hear right. He can’t speak my language!'
Then we go back and forward, and he goes again to [shoot] free throws. And he repeats that! It was [a] curse word! I was like, ‘I’m pretty sure he said that!'
After a couple years in the league, he was preparing himself and he plays against some teams he will try to learn a little bit about every player he plays.”
Kobe was not only a master of his craft in terms of pure basketball skill, but he was also a master of playing mind games versus his opposition on the court. Apparently, Portland's big man learned this firsthand in the most unconventional yet rather hilarious way.
However, and beside that fact that he now had an interesting anecdote to tell, Jusuf Nurkic could sure learn and use some of the psychological tactics that Kobe Bryant dealt unto him. He should still be careful not to use anything too offensive in picking up more of the stateside slang curse words, though.
Watch Nurkic's full interview on SportsCenter below.
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