Former Lakers teammate Dwight Howard calls Kobe Bryant the most skilled player, narrating some of the Black Mamba’s unique pre-game routines.
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Kobe Bryant, no doubt, lived up to the tag of being the closest thing to Michael Jordan. The late Lakers legend was the mirror image of His Airness. Unabashedly stealing some of his moves, whether it be the fadeaway shot or mid-range jumper, the Black Mamba wanted it all.
The five-time champion possessed an unmatched competitive zeal and work ethic, with stories of him making 100,000 shots one summer or being the first to hit the gym doing the rounds. One can imagine the sight of his teammates having a tough time matching Kobe’s will.
One such teammate was Dwight Howard, who narrated his first-hand experience of being Kobe’s teammate on the Lakers. During an appearance on the All The Smoke podcast, the three-time DPOY gave a detailed account of how the Mamba was one step ahead of His Airness.
According to Howard, Kobe took what MJ had and made it better, backing his claim by sharing a story of the late legend’s relentless work ethic.
“You never try to break the wheel”: Dwight Howard on Kobe Bryant being more skilled than Michael Jordan.
Howard’s first stint with the purple and gold didn’t go as planned, locking horns with Kobe Bryant regularly. However, D-12 cannot deny the Black Mamba’s elite skill set and work ethic, saying the following.
“Kobe is like the most skilled player, shooting, yeah, he can do all that, everything Jordan did, I feel like he just multiplied it. People mad at him for doing that, Man, why, you know, you never try to break the wheel, you see what works, you use that and make it work for you. That’s what Kobe did, and he did it with the best player ever.”
Howard recalled some of the Lakers MVP’s practice routines, saying the following.
“Watching him practice, some of the things he was doing, I was like why is he doing it like one day I saw him getting his fingers stretched for an hour, I guess when he shot his jump shot it was to be smooth every time.”
Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard didn’t have the best working relationship.
To the disappointment of the Lakers Nation, Dwight aligning forces with Kobe in LA never took off. The two had distinct personalities, with the Mamba’s serious approach never matching the former Magic superstar’s fun-going nature.
At the time, Howard was struggling with injuries, missing a handful of games too. On the other hand, the Black Mamba wanted to clinch his 6th title, making him share the same stage as MJ.
Thus the two strong-headed personalities were never on the same page, resulting in Howard not re-signing with the Lakers after playing a mere one season.
Ironically, Howard would don the purple and gold on two separate tenures later in his career, even winning his maiden NBA championship with the iconic franchise.
