2006 Dwyane Wade vs 2009 Kobe Bryant

[Homer38]

Who was the better player?

[LukaTheGOAT]

I think you can argue Wade was better in the RS and PS, and because I am big on floor-raising, I pick him.

06 RS Wade

RAPTOR-9.16
BPM-7.7
PIPM-7.24
Englemann PI RAPM-6.1
TWPR-35.63

09 RS Kobe

RAPTOR-6.7
BPM-5.9
PIPM-4.83
PI RAPM-6.1
TWPR-33.21

Wade is also higher in Cryptbeam's RAPM http://www.cryptbeam.com/rapm/

Wade in the 06 postseason, Inflation Adjusted (adjusted to a 110-league average).

•) 29.1 points
•) 6.0 rebounds
•) 5.8 assists
•) 2.2 steals
•) 1.1 blocks
•) +7.6 opp. adjusted rTS%
•) +22.2 on-off net swing

PS PIPM-5.54
PS RAPTOR-9.88
PS BPM-9.3
PS AuPM/g-6


09 Kobe, Inflation Adjusted (adjusted to a 110-league average).

•) 30.7 points
•) 5.4 rebounds
•) 5.6 assists
•) +3.6 relative true shooting
•) +14.05 offensive swing

PS PIPM-4.23
PS RAPTOR-9.08
PS BPM-9.1
PS AuPM/G-5.6

What is even more remarkable about Wade's 06 PS run that he won a championship with was that his PS Cast's AuPM/G was a solid negative (Relative AuPM value of the 2nd through the 8th-best player on a team, among players who logged at least 40 percent of team’s minutes. Value is relative to +0.75.). This means that his cast was below average (0 is average), by a notable margin, yet he was able to take such a team to championship heights at such a young age.

For reference for how historical a feat this is, AuPM/G goes back to 1997 and goes until 2021. Wade's 06 supporting cast is the WEAKEST EVER to win a championship in the stat's history according to the article on the Backpicks site. 06 Wade's run was nothing short of amazing.

Of course, I would be remiss to not mention that Kobe faced an average defense of -3.3 rDRtg in his PS run, which might be the hardest slate of defenses a team has ever had to go through to win a championship. I certainly value this data point, however against someone like Wade, I am not sure if that boosts him as much as I think Wade is among the more resilient guards ever when healthy in the PS. https://elgee35.wordpress.com/tag/playoffs/

Wade also showed good rim-protection instincts early on in his career. He was like a pseudo-big out there, and I think he added notable value there. I think the defensive edge Wade has over Kobe this season, swings things more so in his direction.

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Kevin Pelton ranked the greatest PS runs ever per a metric he developed and 06 Wade was actually higher than any of Kobe's PS runs.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/23651740/ranking-50-greatest-individual-postseasons-modern-nba-history

[falcolombardi]

Can go either way tbh

I think wade was more impactful thanks to his defensive edge but with a slightly tougher profile to fit with other offense stars

I prefer wade by a small margin