Amid the rumors of discord between himself and fellow Lakers teammate Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant decided to duke it out with fellow superstar...well, sort of.
Deciding to have a little fun after word spread about their alleged near-fight, Bryant and Howard took a photo Monday of themselves in the trainer's room, both in mock fighting stances, ready to slug it out as a dismayed coach Mike D'Antoni was literally caught in the middle.
"The mamba vs.d12!! It's on lol," tweeted Bryant on his new Twitter account, which opened Friday and now has 661,208 followers.
The picture was a hit with fans, drawing 23,250 retweets and 12,306 favorites.
This latest Tweet pic comes days after Bryant and Howard reportedly got into a heated exchange after losing to the Philadelphia 76ers 103-99 on Jan. 1.
According to the New York Daily News, Bryant allegedly referred to Howard as being soft, a criticism directed at the big man before by NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal. Howard reportedly had to be restrained, according to a source, and rumors had flown that Howard and Bryant had not gotten along since the beginning of the season.
Following that supposed incident, Howard alluded to a stark difference in attitude between the Lakers and their crosstown rivals, the Clippers, after Friday's 107-102 Lakers loss to them.
"Look at the difference between our team and (the Clippers)," Howard said. "They just play together. They share the ball. Everybody's excited when something happens."
ESPN's Ramona Shelburne tweeted on Monday that two Lakers sources told her that the alleged near-fight between Bryant and Howard never happened. "One said, "it's simply not true," she tweeted.
Howard told Shelburne on Saturday that the team, currently with a 15-18 record for third place in the Pacific Division, had to learn how to play together in spite of any differences they might have.
"We have to play like we like each other. Even if we don't want to be friends off the court, whatever that may be, when we step in between the lines or we step in the locker room or the gym, we have to respect each other and what we bring to the table," Howard said.
"It really starts off the court. I think you have to have that relationship and that chemistry off the court for it to really blossom on the court. It takes time to develop that. You just don't come together and then expect to be best friends right away. It just doesn't happen like that," he added.
With Howard on the shelf now due to a shoulder injury he sustained on Sunday, tempers should cool for the moment, but only time will tell if the Lakers can find the cohesion needed to make a serious run for--or in--the playoffs.
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