Kobe was defending him so it's exchanged and this goes back to the two around the same Why out of every former teammate did Kobe Bryant hate Dwight Howard the most? Short answer, Kobe bent the end of his career on Dwight Howard. Back in the 2013 season, Steve Nash and Dwight Howard joined Kobe Bryant and Paul Gussol on the Lakers and it was believed that this was Kobe Bryant's last dance. Vegas gave the Lakers the second best odds to win the title only Kobe hated how soft Dwight Howard was. He tried to make him a stronger man. Dwight just didn't get it. He came to me soft and windy, offensive player of the year three times. Kobe thought he was getting a defensive player of the year tough guy. Here's what Kobe said about Dwight. I'm telling you you have your teeth. Kobe was a man built on toughness. Dwight meanwhile, he is confused muscles with mental strength. When Kobe was trying to call me soft, he was talking about my mentality. He was 110% correct. I think that this explains.