Dwight Howard’s relationship with Kobe Bryant wasn’t great when they played together, and it got worse afterward. When Howard came back to the Staples Center with the Rockets in 2014, the two got into a scuffle, in which Bryant called his former teammate “soft.”

The incident has stuck with Howard.

“I think for years I kinda hated him for saying that because I looked at it the wrong way,” Howard said in an interview with FS1. “I think he was more so talking about my mentality, not my physique, not how I am on the court. Like my edge.

“And I didn’t realize that because of all the noise surrounding him saying that I was soft. And I hated it. I hated him for that moment.”

It’s a bit odd that Howard, now with the Grizzlies, didn’t know the meaning of the term. It’s even more odd that he wasn’t quite as insulted upon realizing what it actually meant.

To hear him tell it now, Howard is thankful for what Bryant said.

“Everybody reaches different levels of maturity at different times,” Howard said. “I think at the time I was ignorant to the level he was at. So I appreciate you, Kobe. Thank you for saying I was soft. I didn’t realize what you meant until now.”

If Howard truly thinks he’s better off for it, then who are we to argue?