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Dunkest – INCREDIBLE: Kobe Bryant Jumps Over Pool of Snakes!!
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Kobe Bryant does slam dunk over a pool with snakes
Fact Check:
This is an old, but still interesting video that claims to show American NBA (National Basketball Association) star Kobe Bryant jumping over a pool filled with Snakes to make a basket. Let’s analyze whether the feat shown in first video is real or just another hoax.
Kobe Bryant Jumps Over a Pool of Snakes?
The video shows Kobe and a bunch of guys playing in and around a swimming pool filled with water and a lot of snakes. Then Kobe performs the unbelievable jumping (or flying) feat to make an amazing basket.
Kobe Bryant is known for his quick reflexes and expert game, but the video does look odd – even though he claimed it to be real in one of his interviews that you can read here. Kobe says he did take a real jump, and that he may have had little assistance from the (Nike’s) Hyperdunk shoes he wore during the jump.
It is difficult to believe that a person can be in the air for so long and maintain that kind of arc after such a filmy jump with slow and short run up. You can also observe, during the feat, the camera cuts away to another angle just before Kobe takes off (possibility of video editing). Also, in the slow replay, during his jump, you can watch Kobe trying to kick his legs in unusual vertical ways.
All these suggest that the feat was perhaps accomplished using Wires. More so, because Kobe Bryant was associated with Nike’s Hyperdunk shoes.
Nike Hyperdunks Association with Kobe Bryant
The video in question was uploaded on YouTube on May 23rd 2008 (in Comedy section) by the Comedy Patrol, an advertisement agency. It was the same day when a model of Kobe Bryant Lakers Hyperdunk shoes was quietly released in New York. Note that at the end of the video, the short man mentions Hyperdunks!
All these factors are conclusive that the video showing Kobe Bryant jump over a pool of snakes is a marketing video for Nike’s Hyperdunk shoes – not a real feat.
Another Video about Kobe Bryant Jumping Over a Speeding Car
In past, another similar video (shown above) that became popular showed Kobe Bryant jumping over a speeding Aston Martin car. That video looked very real though, and skeptics could not find any traces of video editing. But again, a famous NBA star of Kobe’s caliber would generally not risk his life for advertising a pair of shoes.
As pointed by analyst Alex Kennedy of bleacherreport.com, the car was perhaps driven right next to Kobe, so that from our angle, it appears like he is actually jumping over the car. After the jump, Kobe speaks out:
“I told you!” he yells to Turiaf, “March 31, 2008, baby! That is how you jump over an Aston Martin boy, that’s how you do it. Hyperdunks!”
The date perhaps suggests it could be an April fool’s prank, also serving the purpose of marketing the brand of shoes. So, the video showing Kobe Bryant jumping over a speeding Aston Martin car does not appear to be real again.
Popular brands associate with well known celebrities and often come up with interesting and unbelievable videos like this to market their products/services.
Hoax or Fact:
Hoax.
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