Howard: Kobe was going to help me in dunk contest

Following Tuesday's win over the San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers center and former Slam Dunk contest champion Dwight Howard said Kobe Bryant had agreed to assist him at All-Star Weekend.

"He was going to do something for me in the dunk contest, which is kind of heartbreaking," Howard said, according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "It's been on my mind every day. Man, I can't believe it. I'm still in shock. It hurts. It's tough. I just never thought that somebody like that would be gone."

Bryant tragically died in a helicopter accident Jan. 26 that also took the lives of eight others, including his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna.

Howard and Bryant were teammates with the Lakers during the 2012-13 campaign, but they didn't always see eye to eye, and the Spurs swept L.A. in the first round of the playoffs. However, Howard wishes he got the chance to relay a message to the late Lakers legend before his passing.

"I really wanted to tell him how much I appreciate everything he's done, all the things he's said. Even at the time that we were on the same team, we didn't understand each other," Howard said.

"But I saw a different Kobe, and I even saw a change in myself. And I'm pretty sure he saw it. I just wanted to be able to tell him how I felt about him, and I never got the chance to. That was really the most heartbreaking part," he continued.

Howard is slated to participate in his first dunk contest in over a decade on Feb. 15.