Kobe vs. non-Jordan SGs

The general consensus seems to be that after Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant is the greatest PG to play the game. It's certainly possible, but I'd like to see how that opinion stacks up against the evidence. I have already pointed out on Facebook that the Lakers' record with and without Kobe is virtually the same. When the Lakers were winning championships (something Kobe seems to get most of the credit for), they almost always had a better winning percentage in games that Kobe did not play in. If necessary, I can dredge these statistics up again.

In the opinion of Pat and I, the other players in the conversation for all-time best shooting guard not named Jordan are Clyde Drexler, George Gervin and Reggie Miller. Ray Allen and Dwayne Wade are close enough to be in the discussion also. For most analytics, I am going to use "per 100 possessions."

I'm going to spare you the full report and just say that there is no way that Reggie Miller and George Gervin deserve to be ranked among the top five shooting guards of all time. With those two gone, Ray Allen ranks last in about half of the categories. He does lead a few too, but it won't be enough to overcome Kobe, Clyde, and Wade.

So here's what we are left with:

Point per 100
1. Kobe 36.0
2. Wade 35.3
3. Clyde 28.5

Field Goal Percentage
1. Wade .490
2. Clyde .472
3. Kobe .451

Free Throw Percentage
1. Kobe .837
2. Clyde .788
3. Wade .765

Rebounds
1. Clyde 8.6
2. Kobe 7.5
3. Wade 7.2

Assists
1. Wade 8.6
2. Clyde 7.9
3. Kobe 6.8

Steals
1. Clyde 2.8
2. Wade 2.5
3. Kobe 2.1

Turnovers
1. Clyde 3.8
2. Kobe 4.3
3. Wade 5.0

Offensive Rating
1. Clyde 114
2t. Wade and Kobe 111

Defensive Rating
1. Wade 104
2t. Clyde and Kobe 105

Player Efficiency Rating
1. Wade 25.0
2. Kobe 23.2
3.  Clyde 21.1

True Shooting Percentage
1. Wade .566
2. Kobe .553
3. Clyde .547

Win-shares per 48 minutes
1. Wade .185
2. Kobe .178
3. Clyde .173

Plus/minus
1. Clyde +6.0
2. Wade +5.7
3. Kobe +4.1

Value over Replacement
1. Clyde 75.6
2. Kobe 72.3
3. Wade 54.8

Kobe vs. Drexler

Advantage Kobe
Points, FT%, PER, True %, Win-shares

Advantage Drexler
FG%, Rebounds, Assists, Steals, Turnovers, Offense, +/-, VOR

Push
Defense

It would be difficult to say that Kobe was superior to Drexler in anything except for gunning.

Kobe vs. Wade

Advantage Kobe
FT%, turnovers, VOR

Advantage Wade
FG%, Assists, PER, True %, +/-, Win-shares

Push
Points, Rebounds, Steals, Offense, Defense

This one is really close, but I think most people would objectively choose Wade over Kobe here.

My final ranking of Shooting Guards would probably go:

1. Jordan
2. Drexler
3. Wade
4. Bryant
5. Allen
6. Miller
7. Gervin

Just for giggles, let's break it down. Seeing Gervin did so poorly, let's use him as our baseline.

Point per 100
1. Jordan 40.4 (10)
2. Kobe 36.0 (6)
3. Wade 35.3 (5.5)
4. Clyde 28.5 (0)
Gervin 34.1

Field Goal Percentage (de-emphasized for redundancy)
1. Jordan .497 (4.5)
2. Wade .490 (4)
3. Clyde .472 (2)
4. Kobe .451 (0)
Gervin .504

Free Throw Percentage (de-emphasized for redundancy and importance)
1. Kobe .837 (3.5)
2. Jordan .835 (3)
3. Clyde .788 (1)
4. Wade .765 (0)
Gervin .841

Rebounds
1. Clyde 8.6 (10)
2. Jordan 8.3 (8 )
3. Kobe 7.5 (2.5)
4. Wade 7.2 (0.5)
Gervin 7.1

Assists
1. Wade 8.6 (10)
2. Clyde 7.9 (8.5)
3. Jordan 7.0 (6.5)
4. Kobe 6.8 (6.0)
Gervin 3.6

Steals
1. Jordan 3.1 (10)
2. Clyde 2.8 (8 )
3. Wade 2.5 (5.5)
4. Kobe 2.1 (3)
Gervin 1.7

Turnovers
1. Jordan 3.7 (10)
2. Clyde 3.8 (9)
2. Kobe 4.3 (5)
3. Wade 5.0 (0)
Gervin 3.7

Offensive Rating
1. Jordan 118 (10)
2. Clyde 114 (7.5)
3t. Wade and Kobe 111 (0)
Gervin 111

Defensive Rating
1. Jordan 103 (10)
2. Wade 104 (6.5)
3t. Clyde and Kobe 105 (3.0)
Gervin 106

Player Efficiency Rating
1. Jordan 27.9 (10)
2. Wade 25.0 (5.5)
3. Kobe 23.2 (3)
4.  Clyde 21.1 (0)
Gervin 21.4

True Shooting Percentage (de-emphasized for redundancy)
1. Jordan .569 (5)
2. Wade .566 (4)
3. Kobe .553 (1.5)
4. Clyde .547 (0)
Gervin .564

Win-shares per 48 minutes
1. Jordan .250 (10)
2. Wade .185 (3)
3. Kobe .178 (2)
4. Clyde .173 (1.5)
Gervin .157

Plus/minus
1. Jordan +8.1 (10)
2. Clyde +6.0 (6.5)
3. Wade +5.7 (6)
4. Kobe +4.1 (3.5)
Gervin +1.7

Value over Replacement
1. Jordan 104.4 (10)
2. Clyde 75.6 (6)
3. Kobe 72.3 (5.5)
4. Wade 54.8 (3)
Gervin 32.2

1. Jordan 127
2. Drexler 63
3. Wade 53.5
4. Bryant 42.5