Rondae Hollis Jefferson Plays Basketball EXACTLY Like Kobe Bryant (In a Mirror)
I'm very much not familiar with Rondae Hollis Jefferson's work. I have zero memory of watching a single one of his highlights before this week. I know him as a guy in NBA2K who I skip over in fantasy drafts because his name doesn't seem cool enough.
But this weekend that changed. This weekend I clicked on a highlight at random. I didn't read the caption carefully at all. The only thing I noted when I clicked the video was the name 'Kobe' somewhere in the post. This was that highlight.
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I'm not lying when I say it took me a full 30 seconds before I realized the man I was watching was left-handed, and I was in fact not watching an old Kobe Bryant highlight. What kind of sorcery is that? The man is very literally a mirror image of Kobe Bryant in everything he does. From the number 24, to way he dribbles, to the way he fades away, to the way his fucking shirt flaps in the air when he runs. It's truly shocking.
I had no idea Hollis Jefferson had it like that. I had no idea that he spent 20+ years studying Kobe Bryant tape, mastered every one of his moves, and learned to mimic them to perfection. And for the first time in his career it seems to be working at a high(ish) level. I had to look up his stats, because I thought to myself, "Well this man must be an all-star averaging at minimum 20 points per game, and he simply never came across my desk." I obviously don't follow the NBA that closely, so I figured he must be a damn good player who I didn't know about. But nope. He's not even in the league anymore.
I understand that the FIBA World Cup isn't exactly the NBA, but there's a whole lot of NBA talent playing in it. To go from what stats-wise looks like a complete nothing, to dropping 39 points while doing a Kobe Bryant impression in the FIBA World Cup… That's pretty impressive. Just watch this 4-point play he hits with 10 seconds left in the game to send it to overtime.
I would say that his NBA team should give him the ball more, but again, he's doesn't even have a team. Maybe things will change after this. Someone has to give him another look right? Or maybe (more likely) I'm just wildly underestimating how shitty New Zealand is, and if he tried this Kobe shit in the NBA he would get stuffed into next week. I guess that's probably the case. Regardless, that's a hell of a Kobe impression. Good on you Rondae.