All-Star Shooting Guards

Kobe. 

Need I say more?  The shot clock and game clock both are winding down.  The Lakers are down one.  Kobe's got the ball, all five defenders stick to him like glue.  There are four other players wide open for the easy score!  Surely he makes the easy pass!  Surely the Lakers win!  Kobe dribbles...Kobe twirls...Kobe does a back flip...still no pass!  Finally, one second left, he launches a fade away three over five defenders.
Lakers win.  Did you doubt it?
No player will frustrate you so much you think about converting to ice hockey and amaze you into permanent basketball fandom like Kobe Bryant. 

That's why Dwyane Wade is better. 

Wait, what?!  Better than Kobe?  No one is better than the Black Mamba!  Okay, besides MJ, Kareem, Wilt, Karl Malone, etc.  And those guys that are better just because they're younger.  Wade, Lebron, Durant, etc. 
Look, this isn't a Kobe bashing parade.  The fact that people cling to the Kobe of old like Rocky clinging to Mick's dead body is beside the point.  They see visions of past grandeur just like Rocky saw black and white Mickey flashbacks three movies later. 
But seriously.  We're not hating on Kobe here.  He's got five rings!  Sure MJ got six, and Bill Russel had 200 and Kobe's own coach as more than twice as many, Kobe's still got five. 
Sure Kobe's fingers are mangled, his knee is bad, and his face is molded into a permanent scowl of frustration.  He's still the man.  We love him 'cause he's Kobe.

Why is Dwyane Wade better?  Easy, because Kobe is the man on the Lakers.  Even when it becomes a detriment to the team, still Kobe does what he wants out on the floor.  Wade shares with and often bows down to Lebron James.  He even throws Chris Bosh the occasional bone so he can say "Thanks Chris Bosh for being a superstar the last seven years, getting paid a superstar salary to come here so that you can play like the glorified role player that you've become!"
Through all of that they've got the same numbers.  25 points, 5 assists, 5 ish rebounds, etc.

Give Kobe a break right?  He's getting older, it happens, let him.  I would, except that people pretend its not happening.  They pretend that he's just looking worse because Ron Artest is a baby and Pau Gasol is Spanish.
But seriously, he is still good.  Heck, he's starting for the west in the all-star game.  As well he should.  He's still better than all the other shooting guards in the West.  And Wade in the East?  Easy pick again.  Good work people.

Next up:  Melo v Lebron