Comparing stats can never tell the full story when evaluating players. Kobe guards other guards out on the perimeter; Dirk is more likely guarding inside. Put Kobe on the players that Dirk guards or Dirk on the players that Kobe guards and both would get smoked more often then not.
Same with their offensive games. If I am not mistaken, both players are contained within separare offensive systems that require both to play into their strengths. Therefore, you should not expect Dirk to be initiating the offense like Kobe does in LA, which leads to more assists. Likewise, Dirk is 7'0", so rebounding comparisions, even by position, makes littel sense, because the way Dirk gets rebounds differs so much from how Kobe must get his. Dirk clearly has much harder competition to deal with, while rebounding guards are more the exception rather then the rule.
Now, Kobe can handle the ball. This elevates him above just about every other shooting guard outside Philadelphia. This is why Jackson can use him the way he does. It is also why you may not get a complete picture of comparisons of Kobe to other top-level shooting guards, like Rip Hamilton, Bonzi Wells, Eddie House, Michael Redd or even DeShawn Stevenson - all of whom shoot for a higher average then Kobe. If given the same number of shots as Kobe gets per game, theoretically each of these players, given the number of minutes Kobe gets, should average more points. But Kobe gets to the line nearly 10 times, on average, per game. Only Redd comes close to that and that tells us that Kobe is forcing his way into the paint to create and not just shoots jumpers.
Meanwhile, Dirk is practically unstoppable at his position on offense. But he would be if he played like Kobe did. So he gets set up for his shots - big surprise a PF has to get set up for his shots occasionally. Even Chris Webber has to get set up once in a while, and he is the best forward for initiating the offense in the League, including Garrett and Duncan, but that is for another day of comparisons.
But the point is, Dirk works his role to perfection and it shows up in his team's performance and in his ranking amongst the power forwards in the League.
If you guys want to compare these players in their rankings amongst the League's best players, consider who would perform better if they had to reverse their roles. Dirk is a pretty good ball-handler for his size and might be able to initiate the offense like Kobe does just fine. Kobe probably would lead the League in three point shooting, if asked. Neither would shine on their defensive assignments.
Maybe that is the point. They both are being used to focus on their strengths within the systems they are currently in, and their teams both reflect how successful each is in doing their job right.
And WOW, they do not defend each other, so what head to head matchup would matter. Kobe had a great night while Dirk did not. Dirk's team did not win the matchup, but Kobe's game had little to do with how Dirk played and vice versa.
If you play that game, then while Kobe and his Lakers can dominate Dallas, with Kobe scoring 43 and 62 points in the wins, what do you have to say about the last two games the Lakers played against the Timberwolves, where Kobe scored 20 and 35 points, but his team lost to Minnesota and Wally Szczerbiak, who scored 34 and 25? Does this mean Wally must be a better player then Kobe?
