The story of Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard on the Los Angeles Lakers started as a fairytale that quickly became a horror movie for both players. It was so bad that the team had to split them up after only one season together.
The purple and gold created one of the worst Big 3 in NBA history, only making it to the first round of the 2013 playoffs, getting swept by the San Antonio Spurs. It all was a recipe for disaster, and nobody but Kobe Bryant saw it coming. At the start of the year, Jalen Rose talked with ESPN’s Jorge Sedano, discussing Kobe’s legacy, his 81-point game and the moment the Black Mamba realized his association with Howard wasn’t going to work (9.59).
“I was standing right next to him at his camp when he first talked to Dwight Howard. And I’mma say this now because they made amends. I’ve never said this before. When he got on the phone with Dwight Howard, because I know what that conversation was. I was right there and Dwight was excited; he was asking him about L.A. He was asking him about how he was going to help him, make him better; he asked him off the court, he asked about everything. After he asked all of those questions, you know what Kobe said? I’mma show you mofo how to get championships. What do you think about that? He got off the phone with Dwight Howard and said, ‘his head ain’t in the right place. This ain’t gonna work.’ And, it didn’t work.”
We’ll never know what Kobe heard or sensed in Howard that made him realize the big man wasn’t ready for the challenge. Time proved him right, though, as the Lakers failed to do what they were expected to do with Kobe, Dwight, and Steve Nash.
It was clear from the beginning for KB24, but nobody else took notice of that. He ended up beefing with Howard until after he retired. The big man returned to the Lakers last season and won the NBA champion that Kobe promised him.
