There aren’t many great memories of the Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard era.
What was supposed to be another title window opening for Bryant ended up being a season referred to as the Dwightmare. There was tension between Kobe and Dwight, players couldn’t stay healthy and it ended with a torn Achilles and a first-round sweep.
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Time hasn’t really made that season look any better, but there was a kernel of joy in the midst of a downtime for the Lakers.
With the chatter about infighting between Kobe and Dwight almost reaching the levels of the Bryant-Shaquille O’Neal feud, the team decided to have some fun.
Then Lakers head coach Mike D’Antoni was caught in the middle of Kobe and Dwight, jokingly looking like he was trying to stop the madness while also crying out for help.
This past weekend, D’Antoni joined the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He sat down for a Q&A with Dave McMenamin of ESPN and this iconic picture came up.
How did it happen?
There were rumors that they had really gotten into it and they hated each other, and this was not going to work.
I was on the training table rehabbing my knee and Kobe was there, and Dwight and I go, “Can you believe this?” I don’t know how, but we just started talking and all of a sudden [the photo was shot].
In the moment, this image certainly cooled down the temperature in LA. There was still time to get things right, and with everyone clearly playing around, the reaction to this picture was positive.
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Later in the story, D’Antoni revealed that Bryant made the picture happen.
Was it Kobe’s idea? Because obviously he posted it.
I think it was. I think it was Kobe. But it wasn’t an idea that, “Oh, let’s pose for a picture and get this out.” But it was more of a joke. And I guess maybe the trainer [Gary Vitti] had a phone camera or something.
Gary might have said something like, “You guys stand there and look like you’re fighting, which everybody thinks you’re doing every day, anyway.” Something like that. It was off the cuff. It wasn’t planned.
It was more or less just us responding with, “It’s not as bad as people say it is.”
As we look back on life, we sometimes feel nostalgia for moments that came even during bad times. This is one of those times.
Now that this is a story from well over a decade ago, we can all just laugh and shake our heads. In the end, this team couldn’t win, but the picture will live in infamy.
Bryant is a legend, Howard redeemed himself by helping the Lakers win the title in 2020 and D’Antoni is now a Hall of Famer.
This image won’t be hanging in the Louvre, but it would be appropriate somewhere inside a Lakers museum. Likely in the basement, though.
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You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
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