Who is the greatest NBA player of all time? It's hard to say that since there's no exact formula to calculate it, but most of the fans, former and current players think that Michael Jordan is the greatest of all-time. Knowing this, there's no arguing that Michael Jordan is the best shooting guard to ever play in the NBA, but there have been some shooting guards that came close to Jordan. Kobe Bryant is probably the closest thing to Michael Jordan the NBA has seen so far, and that is no small thing to say. When talking about best shooting guards of all time, one other name comes to mind - Dwyane Wade.

Wade is still playing in the NBA, at the age of 35, and his legacy isn't done just yet. But one thing is for sure, growing up and entering the league, Bryant was Wade's idol.

Kobe Bryant - Forever immortalized in Staples Center

This week, on Monday night, to be exact, the Los Angeles Lakers immortalized Kobe Bryant by retiring both of his jerseys (#8 and #24) at the Staples Center. Bryant spent his entire career (20 seasons) playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, winning five championships along the way. The franchise decided to honor Bryant and his career, by retiring both of the jerseys he wore during his playing days with the Purple and Gold in L.A. It was a special night in Los Angeles, as many former and current NBA players and sports legends were in attendance.

Dwyane Wade wasn't able to attend the ceremony, but he definitely watched it on TV as the player he looked up to wrote history once again. As we already mentioned, Bryant was the player Dwyane Wade learned from and looked up to. Therefore, it's no wonder that Wade himself was also very emotional watching both of Bryant's jersey being retired by the Lakers on Monday night.

In fact, Wade posted a video on Twitter as he showed respect to Kobe and he also shared a great story about their first ever matchup in the NBA.

Wade tells a great Kobe Bryant story

Wade entered the league in 2003 as he was drafted by the Miami Heat. By 2003, Kobe Bryant had already been a seven-year NBA veteran since he came into the league in 1996.

Kobe ended up winning five NBA championship, two Finals MVPs and one league-MVP award. As he was getting his jersey retired on Monday night by the Lakers, Dwyane Wade posted an emotional video on Twitter, talking about Kobe and their first ever matchup on the court:

"My first game vs. Kobe and I wind up getting switched off on him, and when I was guarding him, he was just like making all these noises. And I’m like 'He ain’t worried, he has no concern, nothing.' I’m out there, my mind is racing, my heart is pounding, and he out here like (makes whistling noises) bucket, (makes noises again) bucket.

That was one of my first encounters guarding Kobe, and he hit his first shot on me. Came up, pull up three. You just remember all these moments." said Wade.

Even though many will say that Wade will never be on Kobe's level, Wade still has a lot of basketball left to possibly win one or two more championships and improve on his legacy. Nevertheless, it's always great to see the amount of respect that former and current players have for Kobe Bryant and his career.
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