Is Kobe Bryant Still the Best Shooting Guard in the NBA?

ak nako

ak nako

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[h1][/h1]
[h1]Kobe Deserved All-NBA First Team[/h1]
May 24, 2012

The five selections for the All-NBA first team were almost boringly obvious this year. However, I can foresee some complaints about the Kobe Bryant pick (his 10th first team selection). Let me put those feelings to rest and assure you that Kobe is still (by far) the best shooting guard in the league today.

Scoring

It goes without saying that Kobe is still one of the best scorers in the game and the best scoring guard. His 27.9 points per game this regular season was his highest since the 2007-2008 season when he won the MVP. He literally chose to sit out the last game of this season and give the scoring title to Kevin Durant.

Assists

Kobe is an extremely underrated passer, especially in the playoffs. Kobe put up 4.3 assists per game so far in the playoffs (and 4.6 per game in the regular season), just a shade under his career average of 4.7. The myth that Kobe isn’t a great passer came from who-knows-where and has become to prevalent. Here are some comparison points.

Kobe: 4.3 APG

Wade: 3.7 APG

Gasol: 3.7 APG

Pierce: 3.6 APG

Durant: 3.4 APG

Kobe is 16th out of all players in assists per game and second among all shooting guards to Manu Ginobili.



Defense

Kobe deserved his 12th selection to the all-defensive teams, which contributes to his all around two-way dominance. Kobe also contributed some great defense in the playoffs, ranking 16th overall and third among all shooting guards this year in steals per game with 1.33. In the regular season, where he defense is admittedly a tad lazier at this point in his career, he still put in 1.2 steals per game.

Shooting Percentage

Kobe’s “low
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Kobe is better than Wade if that's what you're asking. Kobe being on All-NBA First Team was a no brainer.
 
They're not the only two SG's in the NBA though.  And there's a strong argument that Kobe's hero ball costs the team more than it helped.

Take for instance:

You didn't have to take that shot.
Just drive the lane and dump it off to either Pau or Bynum.
Those two guys are really tall,
And when you keep it for yourself we never score enough.

You didn't have to hog the ball.
You're triple-teamed so kick it out to either Blake or Sessions.
I know that they don't shoot so well,
but you're really not the Kobe that we used to know.
Click to expand...
 
Originally Posted by AK Nako

They're not the only two SG's in the NBA though.  And there's a strong argument that Kobe's hero ball costs the team more than it helped.

Take for instance:

You didn't have to take that shot.
Just drive the lane and dump it off to either Pau or Bynum.
Those two guys are really tall,
And when you keep it for yourself we never score enough.

You didn't have to hog the ball.
You're triple-teamed so kick it out to either Blake or Sessions.
I know that they don't shoot so well,
but you're really not the Kobe that we used to know.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...



Even if the hero ball argument was correct, who else would you rather have? 

A more concrete reason against Wade would be his injury problems and his well-documented struggles in the 1st half of the season.

Kobe being the best SG in the league does not mean Kobe is without flaws. 
 
The only person you could even make a legitimate argument for is Wade and that's where it stops.

Harden and Gordon got a minute before they enter into that elite category.
 
Hes better than Wade, way better. Wade is already on the decline.

that was his only competition for top SG.
 
I think he is...It's either Wade or Kobe..

I got Kobe slightly better. And if you had Wade slightly better that's ok.

But my top 5 SG in the league:
1. Kobe
2. Wade
3. Joe Johnson
4. Harden
5. Manu
 
Wade is better because he brings it defensively in a way Kobe can't anymore.  He gets fouled more and gets to the hole way better than Kobe at this point.
 
Yep..

Before Lebron joined Miami i had Whistle above him but today it's Kobe.
 
Originally Posted by airmaxpenny1

Wade is better because he brings it defensively in a way Kobe can't anymore.  He gets fouled more and gets to the hole way better than Kobe at this point.
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he gets fouled more because the refs slurp the Heat and call that stupid pump fake/jump into the defender garbage that should result in an offensive foul from now on
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Yeah I was getting ready to say...it might have been an argument before last year. These past 2 years...I don't see you can point to any one area and see a clear advantage for Wade over Kobe.
 
Defense
Kobe deserved his 12th selection to the all-defensive teams, which contributes to his all around two-way dominance. Kobe also contributed some great defense in the playoffs, ranking 16th overall and third among all shooting guards this year in steals per game with 1.33. In the regular season, where he defense is admittedly a tad lazier at this point in his career, he still put in 1.2 steals per game.



Steals per game? Really?
roll.gif


Who wrote this?
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Click to expand...
 
Originally Posted by Maximus Meridius

Originally Posted by Essential1

1. Kobe
2. Wade
3. Joe Johnson
4. Harden
5. Manu
Click to expand...

I would probably put Harden ahead of Joe. I think Harden got more heart than Joe Johnson.
  
Click to expand...
At the risk of ruining his waves, Joe probably wouldn't have been anywhere near Artest.
 
Originally Posted by airmaxpenny1

Wade is better because he brings it defensively in a way Kobe can't anymore.
Click to expand...
simple as that.  kobes defense is still pretty good but wade is consistently meeting guys taller than him at then rim.
 
Originally Posted by abutta13

Originally Posted by airmaxpenny1

Wade is better because he brings it defensively in a way Kobe can't anymore.
Click to expand...
simple as that.  kobes defense is still pretty good but wade is consistently meeting guys taller than him at then rim.
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Are blocked shots really a good measuring stick to see where two guards stand defensively?
That's even worse than the steals per game logic in the original argument.
 
I'm taking Kobe over Wade, trust his game more. Outside of that, there just isn't another elite SG out there to challenge Kobe.
 
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