Kobe Bryant is one of the greatest players to ever step foot on an NBA court. He was also one of the hardest to play with. This was thanks to his hard-nosed attitude of expecting perfection from his teammates.
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Every NBA fan remembers Kobe’s beef with fellow superstar, Shaquille O’Neal, but do you remember the other beef Kobe had with a Lakers center? If you’re thinking about Dwight Howard then you’re correct.
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The beef between Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard began during the 2012-13 NBA season. This was when Howard joined the Los Angeles Lakers.
The hope was that Howard would help lead the team to a championship alongside Bryant. Howard had a great career in Orlando with the Magic up to that point. He won the Defensive Player of the Year Award three straight years in 2009, 2010, and 2011.
Howard was not shy to show his playful attitude, as he was always smiling and joking around, no matter if it was the regular season or the playoffs. This ultimately would be the cause of the rift between Kobe and Howard.
Howard also led the Magic to the NBA Finals in 2009, where his team lost to Kobe’s Lakers in five games. Still, Howard was undoubtedly the best center in the NBA. When Howard joined Kobe in LA thanks to a trade, expectations were high that the team would be able to win another championship, giving Kobe six for his career.
Howard’s failed tenure in LA
As teammates, things didn’t go as planned. The Kobe-Howard duo did not look anything like the Kobe-Shaq tandem we saw win three straight titles in the early 2000s. Fans were used to seeing Kobe dominate with a big man next to him. This includes Shaq and Paul Gasol. So, when Kobe and Howard didn’t gel, it worried Lakers fans.
Kobe and Howard were teammates for just one season and it was clear from his body language that Kobe didn’t respect Howard.
It’s reported that when Howard was about to be traded to the Lakers, Jalen Rose was with Kobe and relayed the news to him. Shortly after this, Howard called Kobe and asked The Black Mamba about Los Angeles and opportunities that didn’t relate to basketball.
According to Rose, Kobe told him, “This shit ain’t going to work.”
As for the season, the Lakers struggled from the start. After 42 games, LA sat with just a 17-25 record. Kobe would turn on the magic, and go on a tear. He led the Lakers to victory after victory in the second half of the season. Everything looked to be going well until Kobe tragically tore his Achilles tendon.
Kobe’s season was over, but the Lakers were still fighting for a spot in the NBA playoffs. The Lakers did secure a spot on the last day of the season after a 99-95 overtime victory over the Houston Rockets where Howard recorded a stat line of 16 points, 18 rebounds, and 4 blocks.
The Lakers finished the season with a 45–37 record and entered the playoffs as the seventh seed in the West. In the playoffs, the Lakers faced the Tim Duncan-led San Antonio Spurs and were no match for the Spurs without Kobe, losing the series in a 4-0 sweep.
Howard discovers a new perspective
After the season, Howard left the Lakers as a free agent, joining the Houston Rockets and ending his partnership with Kobe. Later on, Kobe spoke about why his partnership with Howard ultimately failed.
“I tried teaching Dwight. I tried showing him. But the reality is that when you have a perception of what it is to win a championship – and most perceptions of what it’s like to win are a very outgoing, very gregarious locker room where you pick each other up and you’re friends all the time.
“That’s the perception,” Kobe continued. “And I think that’s what his perception was of what the idea is. But when he saw the reality of it, it made him uncomfortable. And it’s very tough to be able to fight through that, to deal with that challenge. And I don’t think he was willing to deal with that uncomfortable and combative nature.”
In their first matchup against each other, which was opening night of the 2014-15 season, the two former teammates famously got into a heated exchange. Howard grabbed a rebound and Kobe was right up on him, pestering him. Howard swung his elbows around, hitting Kobe, but The Black Mamba didn’t back down.
Kobe screamed at Howard, telling him to “Try Me” and the two were separated and each given a technical. While the teams were standing off to the side as the referees were discussing what to do next, Kobe famously called Howard soft, an image that has become a popular meme on social media.
Related: Kobe Bryant: A tale of two jerseys
The two seemingly stayed on bad terms until Kobe’s untimely and tragic death in 2020. It was after that when Howard realized that Kobe was trying to make him a better player.
“I just think we were on two different levels mentally,” Howard said. “He had never seen a person like me. Someone who could enjoy basketball but at the same time not be so serious. That’s not me. Everybody reaches different levels of maturity at different times.
“I think at that time I was ignorant to the level that he was at. So I appreciate you, Kobe. Thank you for saying I was soft. I didn’t realize what you meant until now.”
Howard went on to win an NBA title as a member of the Lakers in the 2019-20 COVID-19 season, cementing his place in NBA history.
When reflecting on Howard’s career, it’s clear he enjoyed the game, which is commendable. However, if he had embraced the Mamba Mentality during his prime, he might have been remembered as one of the greatest centers of all time.
Instead, he has become somewhat of a joke within the NBA community. This was something Bryant anticipated when Howard called him to share that they were about to become teammates.
If Howard did adopt Kobe’s mindset when they were teammates, Kobe might be considered to be the greatest player of all time with a possible seven or eight titles to his name.
