When talking about guards in the history of the NBA, there are two that stand head and shoulders above all others (for me).
Those gentlemen would be Michael Jordan (who won 6 Championships without a prototypical All-Star low post scorer; he also put in a couple three-peats on either side of a premature retirement, and has an obviously ridiculous list of personal accomplishments) and Magic Johnson who was a 6'9" point guard and a total freak of nature. Magic has some ridiculous career numbers, 5 Championships, a full cabinet of individual awards, and sadly had his career cut short when he contracted the HIV virus.
For me, those two are a full head+ above Kobe at this point in time. We'll have to wait and see how Kobe finishes.
As for the Gretzky debate, Wayne scored over 1000 points more than Howe (who's second on the list with 1800 points, give or take), despite playing 10 (plus) seasons LESS than him (sorry the stats are from my general knowledge, I can't remember the specifics), and I think that legitimately puts him in the same category as Jordan. Hard to compare, but I think Wayne has got to be put in that category - check out how many records he's got, and trophies he's won.
Hockey isn't like basketball, where one fifth of the team can basically be represented by a single all world player (if he's playing over 40 minutes a night). Both obviously require a full team effort, but there are a whole lot more teammates in hockey, which opens up a huge range of variables.