Kobe Bryant’s emphatic dunk over Josh Smith late in the Los Angeles Lakers’ win over the Atlanta Hawks naturally started a discussion about Kobe’s dunks through the years.
Last game, Dwight Howard had an awkward response and refused to comment on Kobe’s dunks before opening up and saying that they were not dunk contest dunks. However, after the win over the Hawks, Howard was asked about Kobe's monster throw down.
“I saw it on the replay,” Howard said about Kobe’s dunk. “I think it was probably about an 8, 9. It was a great dunk…he probably surprised himself with that one.”
Then, Howard was asked about Kobe’s dunk over him back when he was in Orlando.
“I was a rookie,” Howard started out. “It’ll never happen again. He knows that. It was something that happened a long time ago.”
Howard was asked if Kobe ever tried dunking on him in practice.
“I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t try,” Howard smiled. “He’s getting old.”
As he reflected on the dunk, Howard reiterated that Kobe would never dunk on him again.
“In Orlando, that was probably one of his best dunks,” Howard reflected. “But like I said, a play like that wouldn’t happen again. I told him that when it happened” (see full video of Howard's reaction above).
Although it may not have been as humiliating as the dunk delivered on Howard, the Black Mamba, a.k.a. “Vino,” threw down a monster jam on Sunday night over Josh Smith.
Howard may be wise to stay with the Lakers if he wants to be sure he doesn’t get poster-ized by Kobe…again.
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