Former NBA player Rondae Hollis-Jefferson has sparked comparisons to Kobe Bryant after a viral clip showed him performing several moves on court that social media users likened to a left-handed version of the late basketball icon.
The FIBA Basketball World Cup released video of Hollis-Jefferson, a small forward for the country of Jordan in the tournament, showing him quickly moving around defenders, punching jumpers and making his way in a 92-71 loss to Greece to the basket fought Saturday.
“Kobe has to watch this with a smile. ‘ the tournament wrote alongside the clip on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Hollis-Jefferson, who played six seasons in the NBA before starting his career abroad in 2021, bears a number of uncanny resemblances to the great Los Angeles Lakers.
He rocks Bryant’s No. 24 in the tournament and as SB Nation notedHe’s reported to be 6 feet, 6 inches tall and weighs 217 pounds – almost that much same size as Bryant At his best.
The player is from Chester, Pennsylvania and graduated from Chester High School. Bryant was born in Philadelphia and graduated from Lower Merion High School, which is about 30 minutes from Chester.
Hollis-Jefferson also picked up 24 points in Jordan’s loss to Greece on Saturday, just two days later Kobe Bryant Day in Los Angeles.
A social media user mirrored the viral video to make it appear like Hollis-Jefferson was right-handed the way Kobe shot the basketball.
Other users commented on the footage, with one claiming that Hollis-Jefferson was “I’ve been watching Kobe movies all summer for this moment.”