Kobe Says Playing With Dwight Howard Is What Made Him ‘Appreciate’ Shaq

After a decade of near silence on the end of his partnership with Shaquille O’Neal, Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant finally said what so many never thought he would – that he regrets much of the behavior that led to the fracture of one of the league’s most talented and accomplished tandems in history. The five-time champion, though, apparently only came to realize the missteps of his youth after sharing the floor with yet another dominant, gregarious, and often criticized big man.

In another excerpt from his upcoming guest appearance on The Big Podcast with Shaq, Bryant said that playing alongside Dwight Howard during the Lakers’ ill-fated 2012-13 season is what made him “appreciate” his days with O’Neal. Courtesy of Per Sources Sports:

Until very recently, the argument could have been made that Bryant’s Lakers tenure with O’Neal ended in just as contentious a manner as his one with Howard.

2003-04 was an ugly year for Los Angeles all the way around, one that began with Bryant informing police of O’Neal’s infidelity while being questioned for an alleged rape and ended with the big man packing his bags for the Miami Heat after the Lakers lost to the Detroit Pistons in a dispiriting NBA Finals. The former teammates were hardly chummy during that season and the ensuing several years. There was a time not long ago, in fact, when it would be hard to believe Bryant nor O’Neal would ever publicly cop to mistakes of the past – let alone in a recorded conversation with one another.

But time heals wounds, and Bryant’s playing twilight has shown a side of the five-time champion rarely seen throughout his storied career. Even so, it’s become increasingly difficult to see him mending fences with Howard.

Its widely understood that the most sought-after free agent of 2013 left Los Angeles for the Houston Rockets because of an inability to coexist with Bryant. According to reports, Mamba didn’t exactly roll out the welcome mat during the Lakers’ free agency pitch to Howard, confirming months of speculation that the pair’s drastically disparate personas made for an imminently failed marriage – and prompted this, in retrospect, hilarious tweet from Bryant.

Frankly, the rift between Bryant and Howard needs no more coverage. They made their displeasure for one another quite clear during the 2014-15 season-opener, and each have far more to worry about currently and going forward than indirect criticisms of the other.

From a historical perspective, though, Bryant’s latest soundbite on O’Neal lends a unique perspective to their relationship not yet seen. Might Bryant finally understand that not every teammate must share his incredible desire and commitment? And that it’s possible to achieve the ultimate goal regardless? It certainly seems that way.

And like millions of purple-and-gold clad fans across the country, we just wish he’d come to that realization earlier – like sometime right around 2004.

[Via Per Sources Sports, via Kobe Bryant] [h/t r/nba]