Los Angeles Lakers legends Kobe Bryant and Lebron James created one of the most discussed personal rivalries and comparison in late 2000s. It was just unfortunate that they did not meet in the NBA finals. One main of talking points in debates are their style of play and their mentality.
One of the few players who got to play with both can confirm this difference. Dwight Howard, who was recently inducted into the Naismith in the Basketball Hall of Fame played with Kobe during his first stint with them in the 2012-2013 season and then with Lebron in his second stint in 2020 when they won the title.
Howard also played with the two NBA greats for the 2008 Team USA that won the gold medal in the Beijing Olympics.
The three-time Defensive Player of the Year did not just echo previous claims that Kobe has the killer instinct and Bron does not. He also added some tidbits in how they are as a teammate.
“Kobe is an a**hole. I’m not saying he’s an a**hole to me,” he said in the Club 520 podcast hosted by another NBA champion Jeff Teague.
“I’m just saying his personality, he don’t give a f***. Bron give a f***— he want everybody to like him. Joke around, laugh, have a good time. I just think they two ends of the spectrum.”
Dwight Howard explains the difference between Kobe and LeBron:
“Kobe an a**hole… he don’t give a f***. Bron give a f***— he want everybody to like him… I just think they two ends of the spectrum.”
(via @club520podcast, h/t @Fullcourtpass) pic.twitter.com/XH2aF4kVBB
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) September 10, 2025
Kobe Bryant or Lebron James not Howard’s GOAT
Howard played with two different kinds of leader but if he will choose his own Greatest of All Time, he will pick another Tinseltown great. He will pick Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
“I’m always goin with Kareem cuz I think he got the one shot,” the former Orlando Magic star shared.
“I used to tell them Kareem the GOAT that nobody can stop. And he got those 30,000 point shooting those twos. He had no threes.”
Teague thought he was evading the question about choosing who is better between the Black Mamba and King James and so, he pressed him.
Howard obliged reluctantly and chose Bryant’s type of game.
“Everything combined, you got to give it to Lebron. But scoring-wise, I gotta say I got to give it to Kobe. If it’s late in the game, I’m givin it to Kobe.”
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