As admired as he was for it, Kobe Bryant‘s cut-throat competitiveness did not always earn him the best of bonds in the NBA. So much so that the Black Mamba has had differences with his own teammates as well! But from Shaquille O’Neal to Dwight Howard, all such former teammates carry immense respect for the Lakers icon. And one of them has recently opened up more on his bond with Black Mamba.

During his recent appearance on Binge Central, Howard admitted to having a lot of respect for the Black Mamba despite all the differences they might have had. He recalled he was hit really bad by the news of the 18x All Star passing away. “I bawled myself to sleep, crying, thinking about just, like, he’s really gone,” he said. The 8x All Star further explained the shock as they believed Kobe Bryant to be someone like Batman — a character that would live on forever in their minds.

In a 2020 interview as well, Howard stated his regret at not being able to let the 5x NBA champ know how appreciative he was for their time together. The 8x All Star also clarified back then that many thought he and Bryant hated each other. But it was more about both of them not understanding each other. The 3x DPOY reinstated the same during his recent podcast appearance.

Howard claimed though his relationship with the Black Mamba was not good, it wasn’t bad either. He explained it as having some instances of yelling at each other back and forth. But nothing ever got out of hand, not even the time Howard was in Rockets and he accidentally elbowed Bryant. In his post-game interview, even the 5x NBA champ stated it all as a part of the game.

At present, Howard views the whole thing as the difference between a player who was young in the league and a player with experience. “And if I could do it again, I would probably ask more questions. I would probably be more of a student with him,” he added.

Dwight Howard credits Kobe Bryant for his success as a defensive force

During the same podcast in discussion, 8x All Star also recalled the time Black Mamba hit a nasty dunk against him. The instance goes back to Howard’s rookie season, and the first instance that he was facing Bryant in the league. Even Dwight himself had later termed it as one of the 5x NBA champ’s best dunks ever.

However, he also stated that dunk was something that motivated him to further boost his defensive skills. “@daydrianharding_ asked me why I have this picture of Kobe dunking on me hanging up with all my other pictures… that was a canon event… I told him that was what drove me to become the defender I was in the NBA… After that wasn’t no one dunking on Dwight DPOY Howard,” he wrote in a social media post.

There is even an instance when the 3x DPOY admitted he wanted Kobe Bryant to acknowledge his improvement. This was after Dwight landed on the Lakers for the second time and even won a championship. But unfortunately, Black Mamba was no longer in this world to witness this. “All year long I just wanted to show him that I was gonna do whatever it takes to help this team win,” Howard had said. It’s clear despite whatever differences they had, Howard always had immense respect for his former teammate.