The Jump Ball: Kobe Bryant vs Dwyane Wade
Do you have the NBA Lockout blues? We feel your pain and have a cure for you. The Hoops Manifesto has gathered together Bloguin's best basketball writers for a new feature called: The Jump Ball. We toss two current NBA players into the air and ask the simple (yet complex) question: which of the two players would you choose to play for your fictional team next season. You only have this player for one season and one season only. So, who ya got: Kobe Bryant or Dwyane Wade?
Voting Panel: Voting panel: Jeff Fox from The Hoops Manifesto, College Wolf from the TWolves Blog, Don from With Malice and Ezra from the Purple and Gold Blog.
Consensus: Kobe Bryant
"Kobe Bryant.
"Dwyane Wade. Last season D-Wade was healthy, and right now a healthy Wade is more explosive and just all-around better than a semi-hobbled Kobe. Plus he's infinitely more likeable." - College Wolf
"Kobe: Even if you strip both players of rings and any individual awards, Kobe is still the better player to build a team around to win a title over Wade. He's bigger, more skilled, more intelligent, better ball-handler, better shooter, more creative scorer, smarter defender, mentally tougher, stronger and a much better killer. While Wade is most effective attacking the rim and against defenders around his size, Bryant is effective anywhere and anyway. No player today is more complete than Kobe." - Ezra
"Now? For one season only? I go Kobe. Sure, D-Wade's younger but Kobe's got the points on the boards. It's - overall - a bit of a wash on offense and Kobe's a better defender (no, taking lots of chances in the lanes does not equate to "good defense"), and is more durable. Better leadership qualities too." - Don
1 Like
If this was a Timberwolves SB nation blog, College Wolf would be banned for his blasphemy.
We all know that Kobe is FAAAR to competitive to NOT come back healthy this year to dominate. He will have perfected his old man game, likely playing 70% of the time in the post and the other 30 shooting 43% from 3 pt land. Hate him, but he's too competitive to not realize we are all calling him washed up and old.
Wade, on the other hand, is hanging out with Lebron and busy being Dwayne Wade, the superstar South Beach.
@BonK Concur. He's not. At least, not anymore. He's a more overrated defender than he is a "closer" at the end of games.
@CollegeWolf@BonK Right. Because the guys who actually make the selections for All D teams are so wrong... and you guys are so right. You realise where you can stick your "whoa" BonK...
@WithMalice@CollegeWolf@BonK While I'm not inferring that this is the case with Kobe, I find the All-Defensive Team selections are based more on reputation than anything else. Probably due to the fact that there are less stats to rate a guy defensively with.
P.S. - I enjoy Don's "you realise where you can stick your "whoa" line. The man never fails to bring his A game!
1 Like
Sorry guys..... I was working on the Thursday deadline!!
Probably just as well because I'm about to make Don's head spin off....
One season - the next season - of ball? I'm taking D-Wade. I think Wade's next season in the NBA will be the best of his career and the one that defines it. I think Kobe is going to see a drop off in his production after 15 years in the NBA. I'm not saying that Kobe is done. I think he will still be one of the elite players in the league, but for my one 'glory or bust' year it's Wade.
@brumbygg Yeah, because it makes COMPLETE SENSE that a guy's going to have the best year of his career when he's 30.
@WithMalice I think he has all of the tools, increasing maturity and will have learned a lot from last year. Kobe has way more miles on the odometer and I think that Wade is the guy I would build around right now. Sorry is this disrupts your Laker/Kobe-centric view of the universe.......
@brumbygg No, I'll completely give you KG there. Right alongside Pierce in the "Player-most-likely-to-create-a-drama-out-of-nothing".
@WithMalice "and will have learned a lot from last year"
And on the PF to bully PGs I'll go with KG. Is that ok though? That's not dissing Pau's toughness is it? Would hate to start a whle new argument!!!!
@brumbyggHa... someone's just petulant because no Celtics were chosen. Maybe we could do a "who-would-you-pick-if-you-needed-a-PF-to-bully-PGs"....
"Increasing maturity"... this, for the guy that disrespected Dirk Nowitzki during the Finals. Yes, we've seen the growing maturity.
Wait... when it's getting smaller can we still call it growing?
@brumbygg@CollegeWolf@WithMalice Let the record show that I DIDN'T try to get Horry into the Hall of Fame. Laettner, yes.
@Jeff Fox@CollegeWolf@WithMalice "Dude, you grew up rich and in Italy, you're not hood." Freaking awesome! That just about redeems you for trying to get Horry and Laettner into the HOF! Just about.....
@Jeff Fox@CollegeWolf I know I'm splitting hairs, but "many"? I'd guess "some". He's mellowed a helluva lot in the past few years...
I've pretty much never heard him curse every other word...
@WithMalice@CollegeWolf I know Kobe is well spoken, that's why the interviews where he uses bad grammar and curses every other word come off as phony. He seems like a guy playing a role that isn't him. He has never come off as being totally authentic or comfortable in his own skin, which is one of the reasons why he is so unlikeable to many people.
@CollegeWolf Phony? Again - with respect - that's merely opinion.
And on that - how much do we *really* know NBA players anyway? I'd suggest that it's only the lower-end IQ guys that are too stupid to filter themselves that we really *know*...
@Jeff Fox And really? I've always found Kobe to be well-spoken... "hood"? That'd be attempting to diss an opponent's health during the finals.
@WithMalice@Jeff Fox It's not his off-court "stuff" of the past that made me not like him. I just never have. I most likely never will. He's so phony.
I think you're both misinterpreting "I don't like him" for "unlikeable". Clearly, the guy is a polarizing player (for his indiscretions of the past), but as that intimates: there are a HELLUVA lot of people who *do* like him. @Jeff Fox @CollegeWolf
1 Like
@CollegeWolf@WithMalice Kobe is very unlikeable, but "The Big Three" have made me "unlike" him less than before. He still is an annoying MJ wannabe who tries to pretend he's hood by using poor grammar and forcing curse words into interviews. Dude, you grew up rich and in Italy, you're not hood.
1 Like
@WithMalice Huh? I literally cannot stand everything about him. His comments, actions, demeanor, complaining during games, stupid jutting out chin thing he does, everything. I would never want him on my team. This is nothing against you or anything, so please don't take it personal. I just can't stand Kobe.
