Dwight Howard Claims Kobe Bryant Didn’t Protect His Teammates

By Jonathan Sherman
Updated: September 14, 2019

Dwight Howard is hoping to redeem himself in the eyes of Los Angeles Lakers fans everywhere.

It seems part of that path to redemption includes Howard trying to the set the record straight in regards to his first stint with the team back in the 2012-13 season.

In a recent interview on “In Depth With Graham Bensinger,” Howard gave his side of the story when it came to his health during that season.

In the interview, he detailed how former teammate Kobe Bryant put Howard in harm’s way by questioning his reason for missing games due to a torn labrum.

“At the time I was upset that he would do that because I would expect him to protect his teammate,” Howard said of Bryant’s comments regarding Howard missing time due to injury.

Bensinger then added to that.

“And he basically said publicly that you should be playing through the injury,” Bensinger clarified

Howard quickly confirmed.

“Yeah he did,” he said. “But it’s okay. Everything happens for a reason. I needed that lesson, I needed to learn something from it, to develop thicker skin.”

It’s an interesting new angle on an old story in L.A. While Bryant is known the world over as one of the greatest competitors in NBA history, trying to challenge a teammate to play despite injury goes beyond the pale.

Surely, Bryant has a different opinion when it comes to what happened that season.

Either way, what matters most is the here and now. If Howard is able to stay healthy this season and provide the Lakers with valuable production, it is likely that they will welcome him back with open arms.