Dwight Howard Talks About Challenges of Playing With Kobe Bryant On The Lakers

Photo: Dwight Howard (Instagram)

Dwight Howard, a former NBA star, has had a roller-coaster relationship with the Los Angeles Lakers and their fans. During his three stints with the team, Howard experienced both highs and lows.

Howard first joined the Lakers in 2012, when fans hoped he and Kobe Bryant would lead the team to more championships. However, things didn’t go as planned. Howard struggled with back injuries, and Bryant suffered a major Achilles injury while trying to push the Lakers into the playoffs. After that tough season, Howard left the Lakers to join the Houston Rockets, which made him unpopular with Lakers fans until he returned and helped the team win a championship in 2020.

Now, years later, Howard has opened up about how hard it was to play alongside Bryant. Speaking on "Gil’s Arena Live" with Gilbert Arenas, Howard admitted that he didn’t originally want to be traded to the Lakers.

Photo: Dwight Howard (Instagram)

“It was difficult playing with Kobe," Howard said. "There was a lot of pressure to win, and people expected us to be the new Kobe and Shaq. But I was coming off an injury and still dealing with mental stuff from my time in Orlando. And then, I had to play with Kobe, who had just beaten us in the Finals.”

Howard also revealed that he initially didn’t want to go to the Lakers because they had just beaten his former team, the Orlando Magic, in the NBA Finals. He wanted to start fresh with the Brooklyn Nets but ended up in Los Angeles instead.

Looking back, Howard regrets his decision to leave the Lakers after that season. He said he made the choice based on emotions rather than logic, feeling frustrated with how things were going with the fans and the organization.

This is the most candid Howard has been about his first stint with the Lakers. While things didn’t work out with Bryant back then, Howard later made a successful return to the Lakers, winning back the fans’ support with his hard work during the 2019-20 championship season.

When Bryant passed away that season, it was a heartbreaking time for everyone, including Howard. But being able to come back and rejoin the Lakers family was a special moment for him.

Howard also recently spoke about the Lakers’ 2020 championship team and how disappointed he was that it wasn’t kept together. He blames Rob Pelinka, the team’s general manager, for not bringing back the key players, believing they could have won more championships if they had stayed together.

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Source: Lakers Nation 

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