Many believe Dwight Howard left Lakers in 2013 because of his feud with Kobe Bryant. Why? The common story is that Howard lacked Bryant’s relentless drive, which caused conflict. While Howard undeniably pushed himself, the clash of mindsets led to an early playoff exit and, eventually, his departure. Now, years later, Carmelo Anthony has given Howard some perspective on why Kobe was so relentless—by bringing up none other than Shaquille O’Neal.
Speaking on Carmelo Anthony’s 7PM in Brooklyn podcast, Howard got a firsthand breakdown of Kobe’s approach by Melo himself. “He [Kobe Bryant] wanted you [Dwight Howard] to have enemies, and he did what he had to do to create these enemies, right?,” Melo explained. “Hence, he was coming. He was taking that from, you know, that mentality from MJ.”
There is no denying the Kobe idolized Jordan and his approach to basketball. His words of praising the 6x NBA champ in The Last Dance and continuing giving his best to the sport is a proof of the same. But how was that supposed to help Howard? Melo didn’t hold back, bringing Shaq into the mix.
“So he wanted you to have enemies so you could be on the same page with me no matter what happens, ni**a. We day our enemy, right?” he said. “I’m saying that was something that I think that Shaq was able to bring with him too because Shaq started to like have enemies, ni**a was elbowing ni**as. About six now. Come on, you do it, man.”
It would hurt Howard to hear Shaq digging his way into the conversation since the two have been at each other’s throats for some time now. Nevertheless, there is no denying that O’Neal did have a dominance in the paint whether it will not be settled who the real Superman of the NBA is.
However, Howard admitted that while he understood Kobe’s mindset, it wasn’t something he could naturally embrace. “No, no, I get that. I wish me and him was able to at that time of playing together, you know, as a young player, I’m not gonna be the one that I’ve, you know, try to come up to him because I don’t know.”
His uncertainty in handling Kobe’s intensity led to misalignment on the court, which showed in their disappointing first-round sweep against the Spurs—the team’s first since 2007.
Mar 22, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant (24) and center Dwight Howard (12) in the first half of the game against the Washington Wizards at the Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Even so, Howard has always maintained that there was never true animosity between them. But what is the actual reason Howard left Lakers?
Dwight Howard’s Lakers exit
On the same podcast, Dwight Howard shed light on it. He opened up about the cold shoulder he got from the Black Mamba. “And then now we teammates, and it’s like, damn, this n***a is on mute with me. Like, what’s going on? That was kind of rough,” Howard admitted.
Despite the awkward dynamic, he pushed forward, determined to prove himself, especially coming off surgery. But in hindsight, that decision backfired. Looking back, Howard regrets playing through injuries just to change public perception.
“I’m not going to worry about injuries, nothing like that. And that was probably my worst decision, trying to play through all those injuries, just to prove to fans and people that I’m not who they say I am,” he reflected. “And I thought that was stupid of me to do that.”
But ex-Lakers coach Phil Jackson had a different take. In The Eleven Rings, he revealed that Kobe made a heartfelt pitch to keep Howard in LA. According to Jackson, Kobe promised to share the blueprint for winning multiple championships. If things had ended there, Howard might have stayed.
However, the conversation took a turn. When Howard asked Kobe if he planned to retire after recovering from his Achilles injury. “No,” Kobe replied. “I’m planning to be around for three or four more years.”
As per Jackson, that was the moment everything changed. “At that point, according to others in the room, Dwight’s eyes went blank and he drifted away,” Jackson wrote. Days later, he signed with the Rockets.
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