Kobe Bryant despised teammates he felt had a poor work ethic, and towards the end of his career, he famously clashed with Dwight Howard, whom he put in that category. Howard, a former No. 1 pick, joined the Los Angeles Lakers hoping to form a superteam that would dominate the NBA, but he left after just one season, largely because of Bryant. While several reasons for the distrust between the two have been noted, Chris Duhon recently shed light on a lesser-known one.
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The 2012/13 Lakers were slated to be huge. With Steve Nash, Pau Gasol, Howard, Bryant, and supporting players like Metta World Peace, Earl Clark, and Duhon, they had what it took on paper to challenge for the NBA championship. But they failed miserably.
Nash and Howard were injured for the majority of the season, and Bryant carried the Lakers to 50 wins and the 3 seed. Then, he got injured, tearing his Achilles tendon, and that destroyed any hopes they had of making a deep playoff run. Behind the scenes, tensions in the locker room were at an all-time high, thanks to the disagreement between Howard and Bryant.
“Steve was hurt all year, Dwight was in and out, and he was going back and forth with Kobe because of, you know, they were telling him that we was not the new face of the franchise… and Kobe was like, ‘Nah, not until I tell you that you’re the new face of the franchise,'” Duhon said on Barstool Chicago.
It was a clash of egos on top of a difference in mindset. Yes, Kobe called Howard soft and didn’t like how loose and “fun” his attitude was during training and games. But at the same time, he couldn’t bear someone new coming in and taking his spot as the Lakers‘ face. But the organization, in all fairness, cannot be blamed.
Bryant was 34 in 2013 and suffered a horrible Achilles injury in April that year. So, a 28-year-old Howard being discussed as the new main man was not abnormal. The competitive beast inside Bryant, however, did not let that happen. He was never quite the same after injuring his Achilles, but Howard left after the Spurs defeat, joining the Houston Rockets in free agency. Bryant remained the face of the franchise.
Kobe’s distant attitude toward Howard
For any team, especially a superteam, to function, chemistry both on and off the court is an absolute necessity. The ’90s Bulls and the 2014–19 Warriors would agree wholeheartedly. But the Lakers that Kobe and Howard were a part of were in shambles.
It was so bad that Bryant would not even speak to Howard and kept his distance. The former Orlando Magic man lamented over this a few months ago on the PBD Podcast.
“I had a moment with Kobe where we were on the plane together during the season; I was playing with the Lakers. We were on the plane together, me and his family, and he didn’t really speak,” revealed Howard. “But at the All-Star game, when we played on the same team, he didn’t speak [to me]. It’s like he didn’t want to be next to me at that time. So it was a little weird because I’m like this: Kobe, my teammate. I looked up to him. I came out of high school; he came out of high school.”
It was difficult for Howard to digest. Admittedly, he did not dislike Kobe the way the Mamba disliked him. And perhaps it was not personal for him, but when it came to basketball, Howard was a beast unlike anyone before.
