Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard clashed during Dwight’s only season with the Los Angeles Lakers. Most of the clash had to do with the difference in personality between the two; Kobe is very serious, while Dwight is more playful.
Ahead of Tuesday’s season-opening game between Kobe’s Lakers and Howard’s Rockets, new Lakers head coach Byron Scott was asked about why he thought the two stars clashed.
“My outside perspective – Kobe is a real serious guy,” Scott said via the Houston Chronicle. “He wants to win championships. I don’t know if Dwight’s that serious about it. I know No. 24 is. I think that probably was the clash.”
I think there is a difference between not being serious and not being serious about winning championships. For instance, Gilbert Arenas was a big goof-off during his playing career, but he was also one of the hardest-working players in the league. Howard, despite liking to goof around and joke, also works very hard. I bet he is very serious about wanting to win championships.
There isn’t just one way to lead and one mentality to have to win a championship. Not everyone has Kobe’s personality. But that doesn’t mean those people aren’t serious about winning. Scott should know that, and Kobe should recognize it, too. The Lakers also made a mistake keeping Kobe over Dwight; they should have made Howard their franchise guy.
