Kobe vs. Wade

I wrote a response to this article on whether Kobe was a better basketball player than Wade.   I disagreed with the writer’s opinion that Kobe was the better player on a number of counts.  I don’t know if this will be selected as a post:

“While Kobe is undoubtedly one of the top players, Wade is the better all-around player. Kobe is the best pure scorer in the league, but Wade has a higher basketball IQ, is a better teammate, and just makes better decisions on and off the court.  Although Kobe is one of the top defenders in the league, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that Kobe’s “a much better defender”.  Kobe is a better on-the-ball defender, but Wade has a way of sneaking up on you and can sometimes get you 3-4 blocks a game along with 3 steals.  

I also don’t see how you can say that Kobe is “a better passer” than Wade.  Wade is more of a hybrid PG/SG than Bryant is and so is a better general on the court. Some of the best passes I’ve seen in the last couple years have come Wade.  This is one area of Wade’s game that doesn’t get enough respect.  I can’t see Kobe scoring 40 points and dishing out 11 assists while leading his team to victory like Wade did on Christmas.

And if one buys the idea that Wade doesn’t care about his individual stats as much as Bryant does, then Wade is that much more impressive.”