HOUSTON >> The last time they met, Kobe Bryant called Dwight Howard “soft.” They jawed at each other after briefly tussling. The animosity appeared to stem from their one-year disaster together with the Lakers.
But amid his 20th and last NBA season, Bryant offered some détente. Before and after the Lakers’ 126-97 loss to the Houston Rockets on Saturday at Toyota Center, Bryant and Howard briefly exchanged hugs.
“It’s not personal,” Bryant said. “You have to let that stuff go.”
So much that Howard reported joking with Bryant about his upcoming retirement.
I did talk to him a little bit on the floor asking, ‘Is this really it for him?