On a day when LeBron James was due to make his first appearances as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers at their hallowed Staples Center, it was Kobe Bryant who surprisingly grabbed the headlines.

In 2010, the Lakers legend inadvertently created one of the NBA's ballsiest moments during a game against the Orlando Magic when former small forward Matt Barnes pump-faked a ball in the direction of his head on an inbound play.

The Mamba was able to keep his poise and didn't so much as flinch, something which seemed to accentuate and underpin his superhuman status on the court.

via giphy.com

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However, a new video angle has since surfaced to debunk what has stood as an iconic basketball moment for fans for many years.

Apparently, Bryant was never in any danger of taking a hit to the face as the players weren't even in line. And, by the looks of things, Barnes wasn't even trying to get a reaction out of the former Lakers star - he was focused on an off-ball screen being executed by Vince Carter and Dwight Howard.

You could take a look at the overhead angle below:

The new footage has angered plenty of Kobe fans and has set Twitter ablaze with arguments for and against The Mamba, who wasn't aiming to look cold or unperturbed by the threat of a basketball heading straight for his face in the first place.

But, of course, he readily accepted the plaudits.

The five-time champion has since responded to all of the talk over the new angle. "You gotta remember I was swaying," he said. "He did it and I didn't balk."

ESPN have also put their own spin on things by means of their own footage which shows how close the ball actually was to Bryant's face. So it's something you'll probably have to be the judge of for yourself.

But Mike Greenberg, who co-hosts the company's Get Up! morning show, said on Wednesday morning that he feels like he's just learned that Superman can't fly.

At the end of the day, though, this isn't going to put any dents in Kobe's legacy. Yet it was much cooler when we all believed that he was right in front of that basketball.

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