Dwight Howard on his relationship with Kobe Bryant: We didn’t even talk, it felt like a movie

Dwight Howard: Man, that was tough to deal with. When you got a player that you watched growing up—I literally watched Kobe growing up—even though we played together and had all these disagreements, or whatever people want to say, right? It’s still somebody that I looked at like, ‘Damn, this is Kobe Bryant, man. I want to be like that one day, being on that stage.’ And now we’re teammates, and it’s like, ‘Damn, this dude is on mute with me. What’s going on?’ -via YouTube / January 31, 2025

Dwight Howard: When I was in Houston, Daryl Morey made it his job to make sure that I got out of Houston. When I first got there, there were a lot of post-ups, and James really didn’t like that type of lineup. So it became a one-on-one ISO with James, and the rest of us just watching. We’d come set screens or space the floor, but that was it. It didn’t work after that.” “I thought me and James were gonna work because I felt like he was a younger Kobe with better passing—especially for pick-and-roll. So I’m looking at it like, ‘If I can play with somebody who’s up-and-coming, who can score, who throws great lobs and is a pocket passer, that’s perfect for me.’ Because I’m a dynamic roller, you know? I don’t have to do too much work. Playing with somebody who can score easy buckets—I can get him easy buckets coming off screens, and he can get me easy buckets with lobs and stuff like that. I’m like, ‘Man, this is a perfect match for me. They got shooters.’ -via YouTube / January 31, 2025

Dwight Howard: But I did like playing with James for those first couple of years. Then, after that, I was like, ‘Dang, this dude don’t pass me the ball no more! What did I do to you?’” -via YouTube / January 31, 2025

“Is it true that Kobe learned French just to talk trash to you?” TONY PARKER: *”Yeah, it’s true. Me and Kobe were good friends. Every time we played, he’d come up with different words and try to talk trash to me in French. I’d be like, ‘How do you even find the time to learn all of this just to come mess with me?’ Yeah, exactly. Because, you know, they always started with Derek Fisher guarding me in the first half. But in the second half, they always put Kobe on me. That’s why Kobe always took the challenge. -via YouTube / January 29, 2025

On the fifth anniversary of his stunning death, Bryant lives. Yes, in statues. In Nos. 8 and 24 Lakers jerseys. In the inspiration of many current NBA stars. In the culture and ethos of the NBA. But also in Sabrina Ionescu and Jewell Loyd and Arike Ogunbowale. In the orange WNBA hoodie. In every celebrity who pulls up courtside to WNBA games. In every young girl working on her jumper and crossover, grinding for a crown she’s convinced she deserves. In JuJu. “Kobe’s legacy is way more than basketball,” Loyd said. “It’s a lifestyle. He impacted the minds of so many. The hearts of so many. He knew that basketball could be a vessel but the knowledge he had could be passed down forever.” -via New York Times / January 27, 2025