Kobe Bryant’s death caused a frenzy in the world. No one expected that the person that was right by us for decades died a horrible death suddenly. He was a legend and icon to us all. This was the case for the Los Angeles Lakers family as well. There were many Lakers players who were affected massively, and Dwight Howard was one of them as well.
Howard had three stints with the Lakers. He enjoyed one year at the franchise in 2012. At this time, Kobe was still an integral part of the team. Both these players were on the same team. This was when they got into it. Many sources mentioned at the time that Dwight and Kobe hated each other, and the players knew this as well. But their feud was quite public for the world to see.
Did Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard hate each other?
After the Black Mamba’s death, Howard opened up about how he felt. He said, “I never expected in a million years that we’d be talking about Kobe passing away. So it was very sad. Man, there were nights I just cried myself to sleep just thinking about it. And it still hurts to this day. It’s kind of hard to talk about it because I just get these overwhelming feelings from it.”
“A lot of people thought me and Kobe hated each other and stuff like that. There were times where we just didn’t understand each other and I didn’t get a chance to tell him how appreciative I was for our time together and how thankful I was to be back here in L.A.,” Howard added.
Not many are familiar with how the beef between the two players started. When Howard grabbed a defensive rebound during the LA Lakers-Houston Rockets game, he elbowed Kobe in the face. Right after this, the 5x NBA champ called Howard “soft,” implying that he wasn’t tough enough. This was a reference to how Kobe believed Howard didn’t have what it takes to perform during his time in LA.
The Black Mamba later apologized and called Howard a “teddy bear,” implying that there was no reason for him to hate the latter. However, Kobe’s comments about the Magic Beast stuck with him. After his death, Howard said, “All year long I just wanted to show him that I was gonna do whatever it takes to help this team win.”
And the best part about this was that the Lakers won the NBA title that year. That was the best thing to happen that year, and it was the best way to honor the legend. Howard achieved what Kobe wanted him to, and he was a crucial part as well.
In the 2019-20 NBA season, Dwight Howard averaged 7.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks in 69 games, and helped the team together with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. It might be safe to assume that Howard wished for Kobe to witness the ring ceremony that year.
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