There are a lot of iconic moments in Kobe Bryant’s career, but one that’s become something of an avatar for his insane focus and competitiveness is the time that he didn’t flinch as Matt Barnes appeared to pretend to throw the ball at his face.
This has become a favorite GIF of the internet, and proof that Kobe couldn’t be shaken and would never flinch or back down. All of that may be true about Kobe, but on Tuesday, it was revealed that moment isn’t what it appears on camera from the side. Trey Kerby of The Starters noted that if you didn’t want that moment to be ruined for you, you shouldn’t look at the overhead angle. Rob Perez of the Action Network scrambled to find it and, lo and behold, he discovered Kobe is actually standing off to the side of Barnes, so the ball wasn’t coming at his face in that moment, but more towards his shoulder if anything.
Don’t watch the overhead angle of the Kobe-Barnes no flinch unless you want it to be totally ruined.
— Taco Trey Kerby (@treykerby) October 2, 2018
https://twitter.com/World_Wide_Wob/status/1047140944892612612
https://twitter.com/TribStarAusten/status/1047142248742309888
It’s something I’ve never thought to look at, but even on the video above, when the camera pans out to the wide shot of the play, you can see that Kobe is standing off center to Barnes and opened up at an angle where that move from Barnes wouldn’t have put the ball directly in his face.
It’s a dark day on the internet as a beloved GIF has been debunked, but for some it will always still be real to them dammit.
