They’re considered the two premier shooting guards of this generation. Both have won championships, Finals MVPs and both are on their way to the Hall of Fame. But was this year a passing of the torch? Have we seen the last of Kobe Bryant‘s reign? Is Dwyane Wade really better than him? Or will the Black Mamba come back next year refocused and eager to take his throne and cement his place as the best two-guard in the game?
Kobe or Wade. We argue. You decide.
*** *** ***
Dwyane Wade
I remember the first time I beat my dad in ping-pong.
Growing up, we had a table in the garage. Summer time was ping-pong season for us. Each night I would beg my dad to play. My mom hated it because she knew things always ended badly, but he loved playing too much to say no. Five minutes into the game, I’d be in my room getting chewed out for throwing my paddle against the wall. I hated losing. But that was the drill. I’d go down early, immediately snap into Ron Artest-mode and the game would be over.
But he got older and I got better. And one day I beat him. I remember the day because we played for more than five minutes. He was in shock after the first game. I was too. He immediately challenged me to a second game. I beat him again. Another challenge. Another win. I went 4-0 that day and never looked back. His pong-ping game had peaked. He was over the hill. Mine – ascending to new heights each and every day.
Kobe Bryant is my dad in this story – a sadistic killer, dominant for so many years, ruthlessly crushing opponents (me and my little brother) without pity or mercy. But dominance can’t last forever. Knees and ankles can’t either. Kobe’s gotten old. He’s lost a step and there’s no denying that. He’s forced to rely on his jump shot now like never before. His ability to blow by defenders is no longer there and his explosiveness at the rim is simply in the past. He has to pick his spots now, choosing when to exert maximum energy. He’s also become craftier, scoring with pump fakes and sneaky scoop shots. His post game and footwork have improved, but only because scoring has become that much more difficult. When is the last time you saw Kobe go scoreless (Game 4 vs. New Orleans) in the first half of a playoff game? My Laker friends refuse to admit it, but he’s over the hill. Like my dad’s ping-pong game, he’s peaked, and the rest of the field has caught up. Kobe will be 33 in August, with 15 years of NBA mileage. He’s getting old. But people do that. Humans get old. And believe it or not, Kobe is human.
Dwyane Wade plays me in this epic novel, except he’s already won a championship and didn’t get his ass kicked by his dad every night in one-on-one. Wade is at the peak of his powers, the top of his game. Remember at the start of the year when everyone and their mother argued that either LeBron or Wade would have to take a back seat to the other, that one of the two was going to take a significant hit in the scorer department? Well, all Wade did this year was finish third in the league in scoring (25.5 ppg) while shooting a blistering 50.0% from the field. Thus far in the playoffs, he’s averaging a career high 7.3 rebounds and is dominating defensively, averaging over three combined steals and blocks a game. He also ranks as the most efficient shooting guard in the playoffs per 48 minutes. Kobe is fifth. Flat out, Wade does more on the basketball court than Kobe. He scores and he defends. He attacks the basket and shoots jumpers. He puts pressure on the ball and erases layups. Yes, Kobe has had a more illustrious career. Yes, Kobe will go down as one of the greatest of all-time. But right now, Dwyane Wade is better than Kobe Bryant.
-SCOTT HORLBECK
Kobe Bryant
After we all watched Dirk and the Mavericks run through the great L.A. Lakers in four games last week, we were quick to forget what Kobe Bryant has done in his 15-year NBA career. He has dominated the league in two different eras and has put together a playoff resumé that Dwyane Wade and LeBron James can only hope for. Despite Andrew Bynum‘s whiny attitude and the questions surrounding Phil Jackson‘s retirement, it would be silly to write off Kobe Bryant and the Lakers just yet.
In the great quest to find the next Jordan, few can refute that Kobe has come the closest to MJ—closer than Wade, closer than James. Take, for example, his performance in last year’s Western Conference Finals. In six games, he averaged 37 points and eight assists to extinguish the eager Phoenix Suns. His downright scary display of shot-making while facing double-teams in Game 6 was reminiscent of Jordan’s infamous “I can’t explain this” Game 1 of the 1992 Finals against Clifford Robinson and the Blazers. In the Finals against the Celtics, Black Mamba averaged a cool 28.6 points per game and made an impact defensively with two steals a game. Despite his miserable 6-for-24 shooting performance in the clinching Game 7, Kobe solidified his place as a top 10 NBA player of all-time by grabbing his fifth championship and his second straight Finals MVP award. Right now, Wade only has one epic playoff series to his name, the 2006 Finals, where he out-dueled Dirk with a startling 34.7 points per game. But, if you remember correctly, Wade was the beneficiary of some pretty questionable calls down the stretch in Game 3.
In a lot of ways, Kobe and D-Wade’s careers mirror each other. Each got the privilege of playing with Shaquille O’Neal at two different stages of his career. The only difference was that Kobe managed to squeeze three titles out of the big man before destroying their relationship, while D-Wade got just one before he and Shaq went at each other’s throats. Post-Shaq, both Kobe and D-Wade enjoyed brief periods of being the undisputed alpha-dogs on their respective teams. Playing with the likes of Smush Parker, Sasha Vujacic and Kwame Brown all Kobe did was drop 81 points against the Raptors and take home the 2007-08 MVP trophy. In the 2006-07 season, with the aging Shaq playing only 40 games, Wade managed to play in only 51 games before famously being wheeled off the court crying with a separated shoulder. The next season the Miami Heat went a miserable 15-67 (yes, you read that correctly).
The greatest testament to Bryant’s career is his ability to reinvent himself. He’s gone from a slasher to a crafty outside shooter, while continuing to set up his teammates. He’s also durable. Since coming into the league in 1996, he has played in 1,103 regular season games and 208 playoff games. Despite the pounding his knees have taken, the twisted ankles we’ve all witnessed, and the taped-up fingers, he’s never played fewer than 50 games in a single season (and that was in a lockout-shortened season). Although Dwyane Wade is the future of our league, he made the choice to team up with another superstar, LeBron James, who as we’ve seen throughout these playoffs, commands more attention on the basketball court. Wade is still young and possesses a world of talent, but in order for him to even be placed in the same category as Kobe, he needs to add championships—and it needs to start this spring.
-MICHAEL AUFSES
What do you think?
Follow Scott on Twitter at @scott_horlbeck.
Follow Dime on Twitter at @DimeMag.
Become a fan of Dime Magazine on Facebook HERE.
