Q&A: Dwyane Wade talks about Kobe the mentor, competitor, all-time great

Dwyane Wade knows plenty about Kobe Bryant. The two have faced off 20 times and share many distinctions, including respect for one another. The Heat star talks about the retiring legend in his Q&A with Ethan Skolnick.

By Ethan Skolnick

Apr 12, 2016 at 3:05 pm ET • 6 min read

Kobe Bryant entered the NBA in 1996, seven seasons prior to Dwyane Wade. Yet, in many ways, they were contemporaries, facing each other 20 times, with Wade's Heat beating Bryant's Lakers in 11 of those games. They share many other distinctions -- both champions (Bryant five times, Wade three times), both among the top 40 scorers of all-time (Bryant third, Wade 39th and likely to climb as he continues playing), and each employed by just one NBA team.

Recently, Wade spoke about Bryant, who has been both foe and friend, but always an inspiration.

What, to you, defines Kobe's career?

DW: For me, when I think of Kobe, I think of just being a ferocious competitor. Obviously, people are going to talk about the rings, talk about the shots, the big game-winners he's made, the 81 points. But even to this day, when he has it, when his body feels good, he picks up 94 feet sometimes. He's just a ferocious competitor, man. And that's what I think about when I think of Kobe.

What was the moment you felt he accepted you as a rising star?

DW: Um, well it wasn't the second time I played him. (Laughs) It wasn't on Christmas (2005). Because I remember he was guarding me back to where that wall was. (Points to a wall 10 feet away). So it wasn't that time. I think it was the next time we played them here in Miami, the following year. And I remember that game. He smacked me in the face coming off a screen. And I ran and elbowed him, and I got my second foul and had to sit down. I just remember that game as being just a little bit more physical, a little bit more sign of respect. That's what I took it as. As I'm here. Because last year he barely guarded me even though he guarded me. This year he's hitting me. That's a sign of respect.

When did your relationship with Kobe develop to the point where you could ask each other for advice?

DW: I forget what season it was. But the first time, it had to be before the [2008] Olympics, Kobe reached out to me via text, and asked me about pick-and-rolls. He was like, 'How do you split the pick-and-rolls like that?' It could have been after the Olympics. It was somewhere but, for me, that was a big sign of respect. One of the game's greats reaching out to me, asking, 'How do you do it? What's your thought process when you split?' And I think he was asking me because he was playing Boston at the time, or he wanted to mix that into his game. You know, they didn't play a lot of pick-and-rolls like that. Kobe didn't play a lot of pick-and-rolls like that. For me, that was a huge sign of respect for him to ask me that.

You've talked about Kobe being the 'bar' for you. In what ways do you feel like you've reached it?

DW: I don't know. I mean, how I look at it is this: when I came into the league, obviously [Michael] Jordan was my idol, and he was gone. But Kobe was that bar for me, to say, OK, he's the ultimate two-guard in this league, and I need to get there. And I felt at some point in my career, I reached that, where I was battling him. Any given night, I could be the best two-guard in the league, or he could be the best two-guard in the league, but we were going at it. And from the standpoint of his success and what he did before I came in, and winning all the championships, etc., he had me on that. But season to season, I felt like I was looking at him eye to eye some nights, and some years. And so I don't know at the end of the day how it shakes out from that standpoint. Obviously, to me, and I haven't seen all the players play live -- but biased, I think he's the second-best two-guard to ever play. And I think I've been in conversations to be from three to five. And to me, I've reached my bar from that standpoint, of trying to get to where he is, as one of the all-time greats at that position.

What's the hardest thing about playing that position?

DW: Well, for me, it's height. (Laughs) I was the shortest one at that position. And guys that guard me are 6-foot-9, 6-foot-7, so to me, that was always the toughest. But outside of that, you're going against guys who score the basketball. You're not guarding who are looking to pass. You're guarding guys who are looking to score. That's their job. Or you're guarding guys like Ray Allen, who are going to run you around all day. So many different ways at that position that guys can score the basketball. But they can score. You might get 30 put on you on a night to night basis. You might do a good job defensively, and still get 30 put on you. So pride and ego has to take a hit.

The 81-point game. How do you put that accomplishment in perspective?

DW: Hmm. It was like, mind-boggling. I remember where I was when he did it. That's one of those moments in time. I remember exactly where I was at, when I heard he was at like 67. I'm like, what? Because I remember he had scored 60-something a couple of games before, maybe a week or so before against Dallas, and he didn't even play the third. So to hear he was doing it again ... I was at Prime 112. I remember rushing to the TV over by the bar, to watch this unbelievable history he was putting up. Obviously we didn't live through the 100-point moment but that right there, shoot, in our generation is one of the highlights of being a fan of the game. [Chris Bosh] can say he was there. We can say we've seen it.

You've had some nights you were unconscious, and put up 50 or more?

DW: Yeah, but 81?! I always looked at it, like, how can he not get tired? That's what I always looked at it as. It's not like a guy can't score and score when he's on fire. But fatigue-wise, how do you it? That's the one thing I found very, very impressive.

As you've tried to continue to play at a high level in your 30s, amid all the critics and noise, has he had any advice for you about doing that?

DW: I mean, the biggest thing -- and this is how Kobe is built, it's just about 'Work your ass off.' We talked a lot this summer, more than we've ever talked. As I knew I was going to be 34. I looked back at the year he was 34, and I looked back at the season he had, and it was amazing. I just reached out to him a lot, talked to him a lot. But the biggest thing he said was, 'Man, just work your ass off. Get your body physically ready for what it is about to endure. And push it. Push it to those limits now. So when it's time in the season, you're ready for it.' So that's what I did this summer. I pushed my body to those limits. So when the season came, I was like, OK. And I hadn't done that in a few years. He's just all about hard work, man. That's his message. Always.