“Thank you, Kobe Bryant, for calling me ‘soft’”: Dwight Howard remains appreciative of the Lakers legend for berating him during the 2013 season

Dwight Howard thanked Kobe Bryant for calling him soft during the time they spent together on the Los Angeles Lakers in 2013. 

In an effort to squeeze as many championships from an aging Kobe Bryant as they could, the Los Angeles Lakers in 2013 added 2x MVP Steve Nash to the mix and more importantly, Dwight Howard. Howard was a multiple time DPOY and an All-Star for nearly every single season in his career while being the most dominant force in the NBA at the time. 

Adding Dwight Howard to the fold seemed like a no-brainer as the last time Kobe had played with a center of Dwight’s caliber, the purple and gold 3-peated. However, unlike the Shaq-Kobe Bryant days, the Lakers were riddled with chemistry issues and also battled with injuries that took out Kobe, Howard, and Nash at separate points of the 2013 season.

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It’s common knowledge that Kobe Bryant wasn’t all too fond of Dwight’s nonchalant approach to the game of basketball. Kobe once claimed that if Shaquille O’Neal had stayed in shape, they would have won titles in the double digits and he perhaps felt the same way about Howard. 

Dwight Howard remains appreciative of Kobe Bryant calling him soft. 

Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard feuded well past their stint together on the Lakers. The following year, Dwight was on the Houston Rockets alongside James Harden and during a game against the Lakers, both Howard and Bryant got tangled up with one another. This led to a back and forth that resulted in Kobe calling him soft. 

Kobe was known to berate teammates during practices so this may have not been the first time Howard heard this comment coming from the 5x champ.

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Fast-forward over half a decade and Dwight Howard appeared on ‘Fair Game’ to reveal that he was actually quite appreciative of the fact that the ‘Black Mamba’ called him ‘soft’. He certainly used to extra motivation as that very same season, 2019-20, Dwight Howard finally won his first championship in his 2nd stint with the Los Angeles Lakers.