Dwight Howard was fortunate enough to play alongside both Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, and on a recent podcast, he opened up about their key differences and similarities.
“They have this presence, and when Kobe walks into the room or LeBron walks into the room, their presence is there and you can feel it,” Howard said on The OGs Podcast. “Kobe was more so like a silent killer. He didn’t really talk too much. LeBron loves to have fun, he wants to make jokes, but when he gets on the court you know he can turn that switch, it’s crazy to watch.
“The mental aspect of it, LeBron is doing all the plays he’s like the coach, and Kobe’s like give me the ball and I’m going to handle it, and I think those are the two differences.”
Howard also said that if he’d had his way, his first stint with the Lakers in 2012-13 would not have happened. LA never clicked that season and injuries tore the team apart.
“At the time, I had actually told the Magic the one place I didn’t want to go was the Lakers,” Howard said. “It was no offense to the Lakers fans or anything like that but we had just lost in the finals to the Lakers and I’m like man, I want to beat Kobe. I want to beat the Lakers, not go join the Lakers.”
While Howard never got the chance to beat Bryant in the Finals, he did win a championship with the Lakers in 2020 when he returned for his second stint with the team. The Lakers dedicated that season to Kobe and often wore their Black Mamba jerseys in his honour.
READ MORE: Dwight’s Amazing Story About Playing Mind Games With Nikola Jokic