Kobe Bryant calls Dwight Howard a 'teddy bear' and a 'nice kid'

You might have heard that there was some drama in the Los Angeles Lakers-Houston Rockets game last night. Old pals Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard got into it a little bit, with Bryant appearing to call Howard "soft" after receiving an elbow to the head. Postgame, Bryant didn't seem to think it was a big deal, via the Los Angeles Times' Mike Bresnahan:

"I think it's fantastic," Bryant said. "Elbows are part of the game. Trash-talking is part of the game. I don't know where the NBA became so sensitive."

Bryant, though, said he didn't dislike Howard despite their failed season together.

"He's a teddy bear," he said. "You can't help but like him. I really mean that. He's a really nice kid. But when you're competing and you have a goal in mind . . . certain times we don't see eye to eye."

Ahh, the whole "the NBA is sensitive" angle. That's perfectly on brand for Bryant, who has been morphing into the league's somewhat grumpy elder statesman for the last few years. And calling him a "teddy bear" and a "nice kid" is the best troll move I can imagine.

I'd be surprised if the Lakers and Rockets played more than one competitive game against each other this season -- Houston won 108-90 in the season opener -- but this Bryant-Howard storyline isn't going away. Howard should be extremely annoyed, but it makes these meetings more interesting, doesn't it?

Bryant scored 19 points on 6-for-17 shooting in 29 minutes in his return to regular-season basketball, by the way. Howard only needed to play 21 minutes in the rout, finishing with 13 points and 11 rebounds and shooting 7-for-16 from the free throw line.

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