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“Too young. Too young” - Kobe Bryant on why he never considered Dwyane Wade a rival
By Nicole Ganglani,
1 days ago
Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant had his fair share of battles with fellow Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade, and while the two were often compared, the “Black Mamba” never considered Wade his rival for one particular reason.
"Too young. Too young," Bryant said , as reported by ESPN in 2012. "When I came in the league, he [Wade] was in elementary school."
How the Wade comparisons started
What was ironic about Bryant thinking that the “Flash” was too young to be considered his rival was that they’re literally just three years of age apart. However, one’s tenure in the league matters, as by the time Wade was drafted in 2003, Kobe had already won three championships.
The late Laker legend’s focus was to overtake those on the same tier or ahead of him in the ring department and not the ones who were trying to catch him like Wade.
"What I have left to accomplish, those players retired a long time ago,” Bryant said .
Throughout his legendary 20-year career, there are only a handful of Hall of Famers that really could be considered some of Kobe’s greatest opponents. Tracy McGrady, for one, was who Bryant claimed as the toughest opponent he’d ever guarded .
Then there are also the likes of Allen Iverson, who was in the same draft class as Bean, and Tim Duncan, who, like him, ended his career with five rings.
Wade only drew comparisons to Bryant right after Shaquille O’Neal was traded to the Heat and won the franchise’s first championship in 2006. But admittedly, the three-time champion recently said that he didn’t enjoy being compared to Kobe during his first few years in the league because, frankly, he didn’t want the smoke .
“I didn’t like (the comparisons to Kobe). No. I don’t want that. I didn’t want that smoke. Kobe had three rings, he’s 24 years old. He got three rings. I played the way I played because I watched [Michael] Jordan, [Allen] Iverson, and Kobe. Don’t put me there yet, I’m two years in the league… I’m a kid who still secretly wants Kobe’s autograph at this time. I don’t even want to push up on him too much, I don’t know,” Wade said in his most recent appearance on the “Club Shay Shay podcast.”
Even if the five-time champion didn’t consider Wade as his rival, he’d be the first one to say that the latter was elite enough to challenge him. In the 20 games they played against each other, Bryant averaged 26.1 points on 43.6% shooting, while Wade put up 24.3 points while making 45.5% of his shots. Wade also won 11 of those games compared to Bryant’s nine.
But the two all-time great shooting guards never met in the playoffs, the most these two had were their ferocious battles in the regular season and in the All-Star Game. For Bryant, Wade was someone who was chasing after his success, not one to be considered a threat while he was at the peak of his game.
Kobe Bean Bryant, like Michael Jordan, T-Mack, and Vince Carter, was a once in a generation talent. I’d never compared him to Dwyane Wade; that was very humble of D-Wade to say he never wanted to be compared to Kobe- he secretly wanted his autograph. To be honest with you, I believe Shaq started this rivalry when he was trade to Miami- he & kobe wasn’t on good terms then. It was Shaq who made that comparison, stating that D-Wade was a better player.
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