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How The Famous No Flinch Ball Fake Was The Start Of Kobe Bryant And Matt Barnes’ Friendship
One of the ‘most Kobe’ moments ever took place on March 7, 2010.
In the third quarter between Kobe’s Lakers and the Orlando Magic, an inbounds play became one of the most iconic moments of the Millennium. Orlando’s Matt Barnes attempted to make Kobe flinch on an inbounds pass. He faked throwing the ball right at Kobe’s face. But Bryant didn’t move at all. More so, he didn’t even flinch, he did NOT flinch!
Matt Barnes revealed that he wanted to fight Kobe during that infamous moment. Interestingly enough that moment turned out to be the key to their friendship:
“I ball faked, and that sh*t kind of happened by itself, and I didn’t realize how close I came to his face and where his face was. I was looking at the play behind him, searching for Vince Carter going back door, and it made NBA history.”
The following offseason, Kobe called Barnes in order to recruit him to join the Lakers. Barnes was more than surprised, because he was recovering from knee surgery, and because of their on-court past, but Kobe issued an explanation:
“Anyone crazy enough to f**k with me is crazy enough to play with me.”
A week later, Barnes was a Laker, and over time, he and Kobe became very good friends.
