Stephen Curry is the greatest shooter that ever lived. That statement is indisputable. So when a video of him draining five full-court shots in rapid-fire succession surfaced, it didn’t seem wise to question the documents’ validity.
However, it looks like we somehow managed to give Curry too much credit for his shooting splendor, as AP Sports Writer Janie McCauley later confirmed in a tweet that the video was indeed manufactured.
With this latest Curry shooting performance serving as the latest chapter in the brief but wonderful history of fake NBA viral videos, we figured we should countdown the four most hilarious additions to the genre.
4. Curry From Way Downtown
The aforementioned fake Curry shooting extravaganza does crack our top-5 for its random timing (middle of the regular season) and convincing nature (he is the GOAT shooter, after all). But as we will see later on, Curry had some inspiration for this skit, so we will ding him for his lack of originality.
3. Kobe Bryant Jumps a Damn Car
Throughout his career, the late Kobe Bryant made it well-known of his intentions to emulate Michael Jordan. However, even His Royal Airness never quite managed an aerial feat like this:
Bryant’s fake viral video was so entertaining that known jokester Kenny Smith had to attempt his own version of the exercise.
Kobe Bryant and the TNT crew watch the new Nike commercial where Kobe jumps over a car. Wait for Kenny Smith’s version. pic.twitter.com/72cPM7n5la
— ThrowbackHoops (@ThrowbackHoops) May 7, 2020
We’ll give it the third spot because of the hilarious Kenny bit it inspired, but we will max it out there because two and one are just too damn funny. On the other hand, at the time this video was making its rounds in 2008, social media was just getting started and this was a HUGE deal. A LOT of people argued it was real. I’m sure there are some out there who still think Kobe could jump a moving sports car just like there are some out there who think the world is flat.
2. Who said young LeBron James couldn’t shoot?
As we alluded to earlier, Curry’s fake viral video from this past weekend wasn’t the first time we were privileged to a shooting display of that caliber. In 2003, during a practice Powerade TV commercial advert, King James knocked down five straight full-court three-pointers.
The part that always gets me about this video is that James is just casually draining these shots in the background while a reporter speaks intently to the camera.
James gets points for originality and ingenuity (who was making fake viral videos in 2003). But he doesn’t crack the top spot because of the video’s lack of believability (he shot less than 35.1 percent from three in each of his first eight seasons).
1. Klay Thompson forced to sneak into NBA Finals
YouTube personality Dawson Gurley is known by his followers as “Fake Klay” because of his stark resemblance to the five-time All-Star.
Last season, prior to the tipoff of a Golden State Warriors game, Gurley decided to take these comparisons to a whole ‘nother level, weaseling his way into warmups by impersonating Thompson.
Gurley even got on the court and shot around for a few minutes before being discovered and escorted off the premises. For his actions, Gurley was issued a lifetime ban from both the Chase Center and Kaiser Permanente Arena (the arena of the Warriors’ G-League affiliate).
This prank earns the top spot for the high stakes execution. The Warriors’ game that Gurley attempted this during was none other than Game 5 of the NBA Finals! It doesn’t get any bigger than that! Plus, he actually did the thing and the only fake was his name for the day.