On May 14, Beijing time, Lakers player Dwight Howard and teammate Jared Dudley broadcast live, reviewing the past of himself and Kobe's team in the 2012-13 season, and pointing out the biggest problem in the cooperation between the two at that time.
"I can't represent Kobe's point of view, so I'll talk about my own opinion," Howard said in the live broadcast. "In the season I played for the Lakers, I think too much conceit prevented us from becoming the team we want to be. I'm very clear that I wanted to play my best performance at that time. You know, I was very young at that time, that was what I thought at that time. For Kobe and I, it was really difficult to communicate at that time, and I felt that we were in two different stages on the spiritual level."
That year, the Lakers lost to the Spurs in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs , and then Howard left the team, which meant that his cooperation with Kobe failed.
"We have had differences, but we also had good periods," Howard said. "After leaving the team, we hated each other, and there were mutual criticisms between Kobe and Dwight, but in fact, I was just disappointed with the game. I don't really hate this man."
After leaving the Lakers, Howard joined five teams, two of them cut him. Last season, he was troubled by a back injury and played 9 games for Wizards . His career is on the decline, and Warcraft never thought he would have a chance to return to the Lakers.
He revealed his thoughts during the live broadcast. "The last time I ended in Los Angeles was very frustrating. There were so many criticisms about my departure. I felt that I would never return to the Lakers. I hated there, I was very frustrated."
However, the plan could not keep up with the changes. Howard eventually received a call from the Lakers and signed a $2.56 million contract. He happily accepted the new role and played very efficiently. So far this season, Howard averaged only 19.5 minutes per game, but he could contribute 7.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks.
He reconciled with Kobe. During the game, he wore Kobe's sneakers and hoped to cooperate with Kobe in the 2020 All-Star Dunk Contest. But everything changed on January 26th. The helicopter Kobe was riding crashed...
At that time, Howard was flying back to Los Angeles from Philadelphia with the team. On board, he was the first Lakers player to learn the news. "I was shocked and couldn't believe it was true," Howard said. "I told Cousins , and then I told Davis and James . I went to the bathroom, and I was completely broken at that time." Howard's current IG avatar is still a photo of him and Kobe's past game.
In the live broadcast, Howard also revealed that his favorite player when he was a child was magician Johnson . He wanted to be a point guard with a height of 6 feet 9 inches for a long time. He also talked about why he chose to wear the No. 39 jersey. Because 3+9=12 (Howard's former number), and 39 is a number that can inspire him.
