NBA: Kobe Bryant or Dwyane Wade?
Two of the top scorers present in the NBA are Kobe Bryant from the Los Angeles Lakers and Dwyane Wade from the Miami Heat; both of them are considered to be the best shooting guards of the past decade according to many sports specialists.
Kobe and Dwyane have a different style of playing, although their roles on their respective teams are same and also have comparable career numbers. Kobe’s career average is 25.5 points with 5.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game, while Dwayne averages 26.3 points per game with 6.0 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game.
Dwayne is shy of a few championship titles if compared to Kobe’s, due to his substandard supporting cast. However all that has changed this year with the LeBron James and Chris Bosh’s arrival and the tables have turned, creating a star studded team. Experts say LeBron’s and Bosh’s support will help Wade get more points and strengthen his game which is to attack the rim with full force. Wade’s and James style of play is to emphasize on getting inside the two point and scoring; this sort of play will give nightmares to the centres and defenders as both of them charge in for a bucket.
Kobe is famous for high 48 inch vertical leaps. He has dunked over players like Yao Ming and Shaquille O’Neal. He was known for penetrating through lanes, but over the years his game has evolved more into, like Michael Jordan’s by giving his teammates a chance to score by assisting them till the end. Kobe’s fade-aways and fakes are almost impossible to defend.
So the question is if Dwyane and Kobe were on the market together who was likely to be given more importance by franchises?
It is a tough question to answer but basketball purists believe that Bryant has more experience and in some parts is much superior to Dwyane and at 32, he is still an iron-man. However they say that Bryant will only grow older in a few years, while Dwyane is 28 years old and still has good 5 or 6 years left in him.
Wade is recognized for his excellent ball handling and for being a team player, with higher number of assists than Kobe and teaming up with small forwards like LeBron will only improve the young player’s game. Bryant on the other hand has been part of the NBA elites for more than a decade. He has made his appearance in the NBA All-Defensive team eight times. Kobe’s intellect seems to be growing over time but that does not change the fact that he is growing older every year and his fall is inevitable.
Wade’s fans argue that he has technically done more than Kobe has in a short period of time with an inferior supporting cast. Before this year’s free-agency, the Miami Heat almost solely relied on Wade and he helped them advance into the playoffs single handily every year.
However experts say that Bryant’s awards and achievements outweigh Wade’s but it is unfair to compare the two because Bryant will be entering his 15th season and Wade his 7th. The discrepancy between the two’s achievements is a lot; Kobe holds 5 championship titles, while Wade has only 1.
In the upcoming season, much will expected from the both the stars. Their teams will be at their disposal with a dream of winning another championship. As experts say each of the players’ have the tools and backup necessary to take their team to the next level therefore nobody is expecting a failure, as we all will get to witness one of the greatest match-up in the history of the NBA.
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