I said short OR inferior stats. Iverson is the latter. Most overrated player of all time. Very inefficient (less than .500 TS% in several seasons, which is atrocious). Was top 10 in PER only three times and never better than 7. Objectively, by any measure, Kobe and Wade are on the same level. I'm surprised durvasa is still ranking Kobe ahead of Wade. Why is that? Just longevity?
If you're going by the dictionary definition of 'objectively', no they aren't. Kobe's ahead of him. And it's not close.
Arguably second best player in the NBA good when healthy and clicking. Wade is a beast and is capable of being the #1 guy on a championship team. He is simply overshadowed by LBJ......but remember LBJ and Bosh came looking for him and to HIS team, not the other way around. (butthurt LBJ fans keep your opinions to yourself)
Pretty much. Also, Wade having LeBron next to him in the second half of his career will diminish him.
In Wade's age 18 season he was a senior in High School. Kobe was an NBA player. In Wade's age 19 season he was redshirting at Marquette. Kobe was in the mix for Sixth Man of the Year. In Wade's age 22 season he was having a good rookie year. Kobe was averaging 28+ppg and winning his second ring. Kobe was really good at a really young age, and as a result had a huge start on Wade. At the age Wade was entering the league, Kobe was already one of the league's best players. That's a big deal when you're talking about legacy. And though none of us can tell the future, I have a hard time believing that Wade's age 32-34 seasons will be better than Kobe's were. Wade's an all-time great, but his career doesn't stack up with Kobe's (who in turn isn't as good as MJ, let there be no doubt).
Jerry West may be better than Wade in 'greatness,' but there's no way he's nearly as good as Wade impact-wise.
He only has 16K points scoring wise. T-Mac has more than him and he stopped being productive at like age 28. He will probably end up being a top 4 SG of all time. No way hes ahead of Kobe, not even close. Wade (age 31) 16,345 points 3,338 rebounds 4,015 assists 600 blocks 1,168 steals Bryant (age 34) 31,297 points 6,507 rebounds 5,804 assists 610 blocks 1,810 steals Kobe has basically doubled the amount of games played. I think longevity is critical.
Yes, perception-wise. But Kobe had Shaq for his first half. Do you not agree statistically Wade is superior?
Dwayne Wade is really an extraordinary player. I don't think Kobe is far ahead of him as is the popular consensus. I think in a lot of respects Wade is the better player. He takes smart shots, is absolutely fearless, and his ability to rundown blocked shots is second to none. A little too whiny sometimes to the refs but sadly virtually all players are these days.
Kobe will go down as the better player because of 5 titles and going to the Finals 7-8 times. Also Kobe has been a star for nearly 20 years. Having said that, Wade in actual performance is a lot closer to Kobe than people think. Defensively Wade is superior and at his peak Wade was better than Kobe. Wade is a top 30-40 player all time and vastly under rated.
Then if we're talking about career value, I really don't see how it's close (or how Wade can conceivably close the gap). Even if Wade's peak was marginally better than Kobe's (arguable, but I'd probably be on board with that), Kobe's sustained excellence starting at a younger age ultimately provides more value over the course of his career. For a more extreme example, I think Barkley was a far better player at his peak than Karl Malone. But Malone clearly had the better career. EDIT: I'll add that in the case of Jordan, he was just SO much better than Kobe (or Wade, for that matter) during his peak, that in my mind he makes up the difference despite not having quite as many 'peak' years (and Win Shares seems to back that up).
Really? Kobe is the better player, you don't need advanced statistics to determine everything. Wade is somewhere in the top 5 when he's finished. It does bug me how he won his first championship even though I was heavily rooting for Miami to destroy Dallas. The refs flat out gave him the red carpet. It was almost Jordan x 10. I was laughing at times.
