Offense Only: Kobe vs Wade vs Dirk vs Paul

[No-more-rings]

I see a little paradox here:
Some people have CP3 as a top 2 offense in these lists. I think most would also have him the best defender of the bunch, but I also think the majority would put him last overall, none of which I disagree with. Not sure which of these are wrong but they don't add up.

I think some aren’t considering longevity much if any in their rankings, and when it comes to durability that’s a pretty big drawback for Paul as well. I’m not sure I’d consider Paul better defensively than any of them honestly. Don’t think that would be some consensus either. It’s hard to judge raw impact comparisons between guards and a 7 foot PF like Dirk. Though with Cp3, i’ve not seen evidence yet that he’s this all time great guard defender that he’s often lauded as, especially when we consider he’s limited due to his size.

If Cp3 is somehow better than Kobe/Wade/Dirk on offense, and also this goat-ish level point guard defender he should be an easy top 10 peak of all time. He’s not, and isn’t by anyone I know.

Paul seems like a guy who “on paper” you could look at and rank as a top 10 player of all time, but when you really look closer at him, he has a lot of flaws that may not appear so obvious on the surface.

Wade's durability is a lot worse though to say the least.

Not in the playoffs. Wade missed only 1 playoff game between 05-2012.

[Lost92Bricks]

Not in the playoffs. Wade missed only 1 playoff game between 05-2012.

CP3 only missed 2 playoff games from '08-'17.

[Lost92Bricks]

I think some aren’t considering longevity much if any in their rankings, and when it comes to durability that’s a pretty big drawback for Paul as well. I’m not sure I’d consider Paul better defensively than any of them honestly. Don’t think that would be some consensus either. It’s hard to judge raw impact comparisons between guards and a 7 foot PF like Dirk. Though with Cp3, i’ve not seen evidence yet that he’s this all time great guard defender that he’s often lauded as, especially when we consider he’s limited due to his size.

His size didn't matter in his prime. The coaches would put him on bigger players when they were heating up. And he wasn't just a 1 on 1 defender, he was a great team defender.

[OhayoKD]

Kobe's clearly the best I think.

[AEnigma]

Not in the playoffs. Wade missed only 1 playoff game between 05-2012.

CP3 only missed 2 playoff games from '08-'17.

4 (2015 Rockets and 2016 Blazers), but who is counting.

[dygaction]

Not in the playoffs. Wade missed only 1 playoff game between 05-2012.

CP3 only missed 2 playoff games from '08-'17.

4 (2015 Rockets and 2016 Blazers), but who is counting.

Any maybe 09 as I have seen several times people claiming "he was clearly playing injured"

[OhayoKD]

I think Dirk having more gravity than Kobe doesn't seem all that crazy.

He's a better shooter and he's a big boy - tends to warp defenses out more by bringing the anchor out. I'm p sure he correlates more with elite offenses than Kobe also. Not sure about the "offensive slanted" thing, it's true Dirk has had them but hasn't most elite Laker offenses been when Kobe had Shaq/Gasol?

I think Dirk is better than Bryant offensively though they're about even. Dirk seems to be a more efficient scorer also, and is one of the playoffs greats even if he's not commercially recognized as such. Kobe has his advantages like having great handles for a wing but I'd go with the more premium/reliable scorer here.

Does he?

What are you going off here

[HeartBreakKid]

I think Dirk having more gravity than Kobe doesn't seem all that crazy.

He's a better shooter and he's a big boy - tends to warp defenses out more by bringing the anchor out. I'm p sure he correlates more with elite offenses than Kobe also. Not sure about the "offensive slanted" thing, it's true Dirk has had them but hasn't most elite Laker offenses been when Kobe had Shaq/Gasol?

I think Dirk is better than Bryant offensively though they're about even. Dirk seems to be a more efficient scorer also, and is one of the playoffs greats even if he's not commercially recognized as such. Kobe has his advantages like having great handles for a wing but I'd go with the more premium/reliable scorer here.

Does he?

What are you going off here

Just memory of their team ortgs. I think I can also recall that the Mavericks have the best offense relative to their era as well. Though I believe Nash was on that roster.

I could be off on that. Kobe does have great offensive impact stats if I can recall.

[ceoofkobefans]

I think Dirk having more gravity than Kobe doesn't seem all that crazy.

He's a better shooter and he's a big boy - tends to warp defenses out more by bringing the anchor out. I'm p sure he correlates more with elite offenses than Kobe also. Not sure about the "offensive slanted" thing, it's true Dirk has had them but hasn't most elite Laker offenses been when Kobe had Shaq/Gasol?

I think Dirk is better than Bryant offensively though they're about even. Dirk seems to be a more efficient scorer also, and is one of the playoffs greats even if he's not commercially recognized as such. Kobe has his advantages like having great handles for a wing but I'd go with the more premium/reliable scorer here.

Does he?

What are you going off here

Just memory of their team ortgs. I think I can also recall that the Mavericks have the best offense relative to their era as well. Though I believe Nash was on that roster.

I could be off on that. Kobe does have great offensive impact stats if I can recall.

Mavs offenses in games dirk played 01-14
01: +4.1
02: +8.2
03: +7.9
04: +10.5(!)
05: +5.6 (Nash leaves)
06: +6.9
07: +6.4
08: +4.4
09: +2.9
10: +2.3
11: +3.6
12: -.7
13: +1.9
14: +5.4

Lakers offense in games Kobe played 99-13

99: +5.4
00: +4.9
01: +6.4
02: +5.7
03: +4.3
04: +4.5
05: +3.2 (Shaq leaves)
06: +3.1
07: +2.5
08: +5.5 (Pau is added half way through and they’re +9.6 with Pau)
09: +4.5
10: +2.2
11: +4.4
12: +1.7
13: +2.9

Outside of the 27 games with Pau in the 08 RS Kobe never reached offensive heights as high as dirk did with Nash peaking at a +6.4 rORTG in 2001 but he also never played on rosters as offensively slanted as dirk did which helped Dirk’s offenses reach such heights and he also was consistently leading high end offenses outside of 2010 and 2012. They also lead the same amount of +4 offenses or better at 9 (if you take out years without Nash or Shaq then dirk wins 5-3). Considering the offensive slant for dirk and defensive slant for Kobe in some years I wouldn’t say that dirk correlates more with elite offense than Kobe does.