Dwight Howard, a three-time Los Angeles Lakers centre (non-consecutively), is in a unique position to evaluate the key distinction between Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. The eight-time All-Star and three-time Defensive Player of the Year had his most productive season with Bryant while still an All-Star during the team’s tragic but all-star-studded 2012–13 campaign, which they won a title with in 2020. When discussing his two greatest Hall of Fame Los Angeles Lakers teammates with Matt Hoffa during a lengthy barbershop conversation, Howard was thoughtful (if we’re keeping score, he also played with Hall of Famers Steve Nash and Pau Gasol, as well as future Hall of Famers Anthony Davis, Carmelo Anthony, and Russell Westbrook, while in LA).
What did Dwight Howard say about the key difference between Lebron James and Kobe Bryant
Hoffa questioned the big guy about the key distinctions between the two greats’ playing styles.
“See I was at two different stages of my life and career with both players,” Howard noted. “So with Kobe I was super-young, I was in my prime, not that I was egotistical, but I felt highly of myself because of my accomplishments, and I’d never had a superstar teammate [before Bryant], so I think we bumped heads because of the age gap [Bryant was seven years older] for one, and me just never experiencing what it’s like to have another alpha star like that on the team. And as I got older I started to realize more of how he felt. And as a young ballplayer you’re not seeing that, you think the game will last forever.”
“LeBron almost acts like somebody from the south side of Georgia [Howard’s home state]. We act kind of like twins,” Howard continued. “Joking, silly, having a good time. We get on the court, we’re still going to have a good time but we’re going to dominate. Kobe ain’t bullsh*tting with nobody. He might not come to the locker room to talk. And everybody’s like, ‘So he’s just going to walk all the way past us. Dap nobody up. [Not give us] a head nod or nothing, he just walks past us.'”
Bryant was never particularly sociable off the court, despite being a good verbal communicator there. Since his first year with the Cleveland Cavaliers, James has been dishing out unique, player-specific dapping and high-five combos. It’s intriguing to learn that their characteristics off the field mirror those in the locker room.