Kobe Bryant is a living legend and the Los Angeles Lakers are perhaps the favorite sports team in Asia. While Dwight Howard received a warm welcome from the fans when the Houston Rockets arrived in the Philippines, he quickly realized that it was Lakers Nation when the Rockets played the Indiana Pacers in a preseason game.
At the Mall of Asia Arena, the extremely loyal supporters of Kobe and the Los Angeles Lakers surprisingly booed and chanted “Kobe! Kobe!” when Howard was on the floor, according to InterAKTV:
“During the Rockets’ preseason game on Thursday night against the Indiana Pacers, Howard was on the receiving end of some boos from the crowd at the Mall of Asia Arena.
There were also scattered chants of ‘Kobe! Kobe!’ in reference to Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant, with whom Howard had a clash of personality during his one season stint in Los Angeles.”
The amazing response from the crowd seemed to catch Howard off guard as he finished with just nine points and three rebounds and was also blocked three times by Pacers’ center Roy Hibbert. Fortunately for Howard, he did receive big cheers in the third quarter — after he made a free throw.
It’s simply amazing how loyal the fan base in the Philippines is. Even though they are more than 7,000 miles away and 15 hours ahead of Los Angeles, they still find ways to support Kobe and the Lakers — even if it means booing Dwight Howard.
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