I'm taking a healthy Wade over Howard for sure. And I never doubted the talent of the Thunder but just a year before LeBron not being great was the reason they lost.
He did not win with "less". When Magic won in the 80's, every year that he won, his team was arguably the most talented in basketball. The same holds true for when Jordan won, when Kobe won, and now that LeBron is winning. And yes, Gasol will find himself in the HOF.
He's a PF, not a C. Post his career stats vs some othe the other PF's who are in the HOF, such as our coach, and you will find yourself surprised.
I think you are in the minority on Wade over a healthy Howard, especially considering how far Howard's Orlando teams advanced without another star on the team and how Wade hadn't escaped round 1 in 4 years prior to LeBron. And I bet there are more folks who would take some of the other dudes I mentioned over Wade. Sure, LeBron was the main reason they lost in 2011, but he was also the main reason they won in 2012. Your man Kobe was the main reason his team lost in 2004 and 2008 last I checked.
I don't disagree but Wade is in the top 5 discussion whether you put him there or not. He is an elite level player/ As far as the second paragraph goes once again I don't disagree with you. You started that whole little argument not really related to the point I was originally making.
lol anyone read the article on kobe and shaq over on yahoo? What a joke. "But ultimately during those years I sacrificed a lot, numbers-wise, to play with him. The thing that always bothered me was people said, 'Well, Kobe's selfish.' I'm not selfish. If I was selfish, I would have left. I gave up a lot to play with him." Really? You demanded to only play for the Lakers during the draft. Talk about how great your numbers would have been without Shaq. You had the chance for that if you didn't cry your way to LA. Sacrifice my ass. If i was selfish, i would have left. You were selfish to play only for the Lakers idiot. You also did demand a trade. (On if he was traded instead of Shaq) "I would have went some place else and won more championships," Bryant said. "That's how driven I was. I was just that obsessed about winning without him. Everything was about that. I was obsessive about it and there was nothing that was going to get in my way." Oh. Really? Again, you demanded to be traded b/c you couldn't win **** with your own team for 2 years. Wow. A whole 2 years and he couldn't stand it because he was spoiled playing with Shaq. You would have won more championships? No. You probably wouldn't have. B/c those teams wouldn't have been the Lakers, who somehow traded peanuts for your All Star PF to form the biggest front court in the league.
What bothers me about Kobe isn't that he's arrogant, but that his arrogance isn't even warranted. It's one thing to brag when you are the best, but Kobe has never been the best player in the NBA for even a single season, and yet the way he talks you'd think he was on the stature of a guy like Magic, Bird, or LeBron. It reeks of insecurity knowing that the thing he's most famous for is being Shaq's sidekick.
You are just being nitpicky with this. Kobe was a top 5 player in the league/world for about a decade. One of the biggest reasons for his longevity is his obsessive/arrogant nature which drives him to stay in shape while guys like TMac and Vince fall apart and fade away. You don't have to be the hands down the best at what you do for cockiness to be warranted.
Uh you're confusing an old Dwyane Wade with the Wade of old. He's a borderline all star these days in terms of efficiency and a far cry from his peak (which was higher than kobe BTW). When Wade was playing hurt and settling for jumpers like he was in the middle of last year's playoffs he's a hindrance. Replace Kobe with Lebron(at any age) on any of his title teams and they win easily. Do the same with a prime Kobe last year and Indy is in the finals thanks to no Chris Bosh and a mediocre roster. There's really no argument here.
You and me both. You get comments like that and realize it's time to end the discussion. 21/5/5 52% from the field (best of Wade's career BTW) with a 24 PER but he's barely an all star now. SMH.
It has become the laughingstock of NBA forums, rest of league's fans check in and read the posts here and gets lots of lulz.
This site is actually really tame compared to the larger boards like InsideHoops and RealGM. Posters like GreatOne1978 wouldn't last over a day there.
Low 20s PER is borderline all star whether you lke it or not. And that's what Wade did in the playoffds last year thanks to a number of brick filled nights when he helped LeBron as much as an anchor. LeBron as we know overcame it - Kobe, lol, I shudder to think of what his post game commentary is when he has to go to war with Earl Anthony and Shane Battier as his best alternatives to "doin work". Lock up all the femsle hotel staff! The guy can't even play with HOFrs and has managed to alienate the league's most dominant inside force twice in one career. It's really kind of remarkable. Pair him with Wade? Smush Parker faint. Would never work in a million years - one of many reasons why LeBron is so far beyond anything he ever did. The real conversation is whether or not Wade has surpassed Kobe. Kobe has longevity but Wade was better at his peak IMO.
That is flat out wrong dude. Wade is currently 6th in the league in PER. A 24 PER is top 10 every year. There is nothing borderline all star about Wade's performance this year. Just give it up and stop making idiotic comments.
He posted 22 flat in last year's playoffs. Amazing! Kobe has never had that kind of help. Just a revolving door cast of hall of famers and all stars who stick around until they get fed up with his sh-t and get run off. Now answer the real question- Kobe or Wade?
Last years playoffs don't define Wade as a player and have nothing to do how he is playing right now which is way above all star level. For this year? Career? One random season?