While new NBA fans remember Dwight Howard as a key member of the 2020 title-winning Lakers squad, there was a time when the center was one of the most hated men in LA. This happened after Howard’s one-year stint with the Lakers in 2012-13.
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The Lakers were plagued with injuries that season, and Howard’s ineffectiveness in contributing to winning basketball made him a villain in the City of Angels. He could not bring his DPOY form to LA, and the Lakers were unceremoniously knocked out of the playoffs in the first round.
A year later, things got heated when Howard returned to LA as a Houston Rockets player. Lakers centerpiece Kobe Bryant (who had issues with Howard’s LA stint) butted heads with Howard after a play.
After grabbing a defensive rebound under the basket, Howard was looking to kickstart an offensive possession. However, Bryant had other plans as he tried to stifle the Rockets star by flailing his arms in the latter’s face. This prompted Howard to try and throw an elbow into Kobe’s face.
The ref immediately called a foul on Howard and the two former teammates soon got into a heated exchange. An X account posted a clip of Kobe and Howard’s back-and-forth, where Bryant can be heard saying, “Try me.”
” I know you. You’re a p***y, dawg,” Howard can be seen mouthing.
“Soft as a mfer…and you a b***h a** n-” Kobe added, shaking his head at Howard.
FULL Audio Of Kobe Bryant Trash Talking Dwight Howard In 2014👀:
Kobe: “Try me”
Dwight: “I know you… you’re a pu**y”
Then, Kobe calls Dwight “soft” and says:
“You soft as a motherf*cker… and you a b*tch a** n****” pic.twitter.com/GuH1eH6fW7
— LegendZ (@legendz_nba) October 11, 2024
Luckily for D12, he’d have the last laugh that day as the Rockets took the win in that game 108-90. Howard had a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds while Bryant was the Lakers’ highest scorer with 19 points.
While the game turned out in Howard’s favor, his whole stint with the Lakers had truly been a disaster. That might have contributed to Kobe’s passionate outburst against him. The Mamba was frustrated with the veteran center for not showing up when his team needed him the most.
Despite coming back in 2020 and winning a title for the franchise, Howard often speaks about his regret for not making it work with Kobe in his first stint.
Howard regretted leaving LA
When Howard left LA, it was seen as an act of quitting. The franchise had failed to do anything meaningful. The team was in shambles, and their stars were always at odds. On Gilbert Arenas’ podcast, Howard explained his regret of leaving the Lakers for the Rockets, and how the decision was influenced by emotions.
“And I made an emotional decision to leave. I do regret that, making a decision just based off my emotions and how I was feeling about how the fans were, how I felt the organization was at the time with me and Kobe. I didn’t really make a smart, logical decision. I just made an emotional decision at that time.”
Of course, Howard’s departure was probably not the worst decision at the time considering the state of the Lakers. Entering his twilight years, Bryant was becoming more injury-prone. The Lakers had no clear plan, and Howard’s game, which was so dependent on his physicality, had started to decline too.
