Dwight Howard speaks about Kobe Bryant and his first experience with the Lakers

Dwight Howard opened up over Instagram Live with teammate Jared Dudley on Wednesday about what went wrong in his relationship with Kobe Bryant when they played together for the Lakers in 2012-2013.

“I really can’t speak for Kobe, so I’ll speak for myself,” Howard said. “In that season that I played here, I think there was a lot of egos that was in the way of us being the team we wanted to be. We had our disagreements and our moments. Once I left the team, the word is we hate each other. Kobe and Dwight is going back and forth. I’m like, ‘Man, it’s not even like that. I was upset about basketball, but I don’t hate this man.’ I was really upset about how things ended the last time I was in LA and I felt like I got so much criticism for leaving, I was like, ‘Man, I would never go back. I hated that place. I was so upset.’ But I told myself that I got to let this stuff go. I didn’t care about how many points I score, how many rebounds I get, who gets the praise, how many minutes I play, and it’s worked out great. Playing here in LA has been such a blessing for me and I cherish every single moment".

Howard later added about when he found out about Kobe Bryant’s death: "I was in such shock that I didn’t think it was real. There were times where we just didn’t understand each other and I didn’t get a chance to tell him how appreciative I was for our time together and how thankful I was to be back here in L.A."