Dwight Howard is one of the few NBA players to have been fortunate enough to have played with both Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. When asked about the differences between the two all-time greats on the All-Stars podcast, Howard responded with an interesting analogy.
“As far as individual talent, I don’t think there’s not many players if any that is skilled as Kobe Bryant,” Howard said. “… I looked at him like if he was a superhero, like Batman. That would be my assessment of Kobe Bryant.”
Howard then elaborated on just what made Kobe like Batman.
“Well, just look at Batman, he was a billionaire,” Howard stated. “… All the gadgets, very smart, very articulate, and every person that Batman had to face, he studied them before he actually went at them and that’s kind of like how Kobe is.”
When it came to LeBron, the 38-year-old said he is like Thor or Thanos.
“And then you have pure talents like LeBron who’s Magic Johnson times two, three. He’s 6’9.” Howard continued. “He’s way more athletic, he’s passing the ball like crazy, he’s still playing… I would see LeBron as like Thor… Thor is a god. He’s been doing the same dunk for 90 years… He’s Thor to me or Thanos.”
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That sure was an interesting comparison. Howard basically compared LeBron to a god while Bryant in his eyes was a human who stretched the limit in terms of what one can possibly achieve. In a weird way, he might be right with that assessment of the two.
Howard didn’t get to spend too much time with either of them, though. He and Kobe only played together in the 2012-13 season for the Los Angeles Lakers. They did not get along too well, which was why Howard decided to leave in free agency.
The big man would return to the Lakers in 2019, this time to play with LeBron. The two won the NBA championship together in 2020, with Howard being a valuable role player on that team. He would leave the Lakers again after that but returned in the 2021-22 season.
His third stint with the Lakers and second alongside LeBron wasn’t a particularly impressive one, though, as they missed the playoffs. That campaign also remains Howard’s last season in the NBA.
Dwight Howard Shared The Difference In The Leadership Styles Of Bryant And James
Howard has been asked about these two a fair bit over the years and understandably so. LeBron and Kobe get compared all the time and who better to ask about them than someone who played with both? In 2023, Howard explained the difference between James and Bryant as locker room leaders.
“LeBron’s almost at like somebody from the south side of Georgia. We actin’ kind of like twins. Joking, (being) silly, having a good time. We get on the court, we still gonna have a good time but we’re gonna dominate. Kobe, he not bulls***ing with nobody. He might not come to the locker room to talk, so he’s just gonna walk all the way past us.”
It sure does explain why Howard got along great with LeBron, but not Kobe. He has always been a fun-loving character and someone like that isn’t the greatest of fits with Bryant, who was all business.
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