Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade are considered two of the greatest shooting guards in NBA history. As Bryant has five championships in seven NBA Finals appearances with the Los Angeles Lakers, Wade has three championships in five NBA Finals appearances with the Miami Heat. Unfortunately, the two future Hall of Famers never met in the league's grandest stage.
As it currently stands, Wade and the Heat (sixth spot) may face LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers (third spot). While it would be an exciting matchup between Wade's former teammate and team, the 36-year-old wishes he had an opportunity to play Bryant according to Ira Winderman of Sun Sentinel:
“For me,” he said, “it was more so wishing I had an opportunity to play against Kobe in the Finals. That was the thing that would have been cool for me.”
As Wade is focused on the present, if the two teams do end up meeting in the first round of the playoffs, he revealed his thought process:
“I think for me it would be more so thinking about what we have to do to try to limit the greatest player in the game and arguably one of the greatest of all time and try to come out with the David-vs.-Goliath situation and how we can come out with a win of the series,” Wade said. “So I won't really be concerned with playing against one of my best friends, I'll be thinking about what I have to do to try to help this team win.”
In the 2000s, Bryant made all of his NBA Finals appearances in two different stints with Shaquille O'Neal and Pau Gasol. However, when James and Chris Bosh joined Wade in Miami prior to the 2011-12 NBA season, the Lakers never made it past the second round of the playoffs.
While it certainly would have been a fun matchup between Bryant and the Big Three, Wade and company were able to win two championships in four consecutive appearances.
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