In 2012 Dwight Howard was traded from Orlando to L.A, a move which lasted just one season. It was a season best known for disputes between Dwight and Kobe Bryant.

Howard was always pissed with the fact that Kobe shot too much so he didn’t see much of the ball. He also made it known that Kobe needed to dominate in ways other than just scoring.

Despite their differences the Lakers still managed a 45–37 record (.549) and secured seventh seed in the Western Conference. They ended up falling short to San Antonio in the first round of the playoffs.

Following his single season at L.A, Howard rejected a max 5-year $118m contract to resign with the Lakers and instead opted to sign a 4-year $88 million max contract with Houston.

So it was always going to be an interesting affair when Howard would lineup against Kobe. The pair finally met in 2014 and it was almost inevitable the pair would have a run in with each other and they did just that.

The two had an on-court skirmish with Kobe taking exception to stray elbows from Howard after they competed for a rebound.

The Howard vs. Kobe clash was brewing since their time together at the Lakers. Dwight’s jovial personality was in stark contrast to Kobe’s laser-focused mamba mentality.

Howard as a young player in the NBA was absolutely dominant and his physical presence was out of this world. Despite what seemed to be limitless ability, his long-term development and his career progression hit the skids.

Compare that to the development of Kobe who was able to hit the stratosphere – the glaring differences in the pairs mentality a hard thing to overlook.

Today is a new day. Even if you were wrong yesterday, you can get it right today.” – Dwight Howard

Immediately following Dwight’s elbow, Kobe called Howard ‘soft’, only to apologise afterward and then doubled down, calling him a ‘Teddy bear’.

Howard’s career demise – or stagnation – seems to have coincided with his run in with Kobe. The Kobe remark went viral and Howard hated him for it.

Fast forward five years to 2019 and Howard has a different thought about the run in. “He had a comment about me being soft”, Dwight Howard said during an interview. “I kinda hated him for saying that. Because I looked at it the wrong way. I think he was more so talking about my mentality. Not my physique, not how I am on the court”.

Howard has since come to grudgingly accept and appreciate being called soft by the late Kobe Bryant. In the twilight of his career and upon reflection, he’s accepted what was ignorance at the time and acknowledges that everybody reaches different levels of maturity at different times.

It seems that Howard was able to finally figure out the real meaning of Mamba, by just trying to get better every day. He may have always had the Mamba in him but it just needed time and maturity to be unlocked.