Kobe Bryant had his fair share of battles with Dwayne Wade and while the two were often compared the Black Mamba never considered Wade his rival for one particular reason Too Young Too Young briyan said as reported by ESPN in 2012 when I came in the league he was in elementary school what was ironic about Brian thinking that the flash was too young to be considered his rival was that they to literally just 3 years of age apart however by the time Wade was drafted in 2003 Kobe had already won three championships the late Laker Legend's Focus was to overtake those on the same tier or ahead of him in the ring department and not the ones who were trying to catch him like Wade what I have left to accomplish those players retired a long time ago Brian said throughout his legendary 20-year career there are only a handful of Hall of Famers that really could be considered some of Kobe's greatest opponents Tracy McGrady for one was who Brian claimed as the toughest opponent he'd ever guarded