Over his 16-year career, shooting guard Dwyane Wade, the greatest player in Miami Heat history averaged 22.0 points on 55.4 percent true shooting. (Mandatory Credit: Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images)
There have been a lot of NBA players to play basketball throughout the 21st century. Since the start of the 2000-01 season, 2,479 players have played at least one minute. That’s a lot of players.
All that said, there’s no question that Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade is one of the greatest (shooting) guards ever.
Wade, the greatest player in Miami Heat history, helped the franchise win their only three championships ever, in addition to being named to eight All-NBA teams, three All-Defensive teams while winning one scoring title and one NBA Finals MVP, among several other accolades.
But where does he rank among shooting guards in the 21st century? According to CBS Sports’ recent quarter century team, Wade ranks as the second-best — behind only the late Kobe Bryant.
Heat great Dwyane Wade gets tabbed the second-best SG ever:
In 16 NBA seasons, Wade averaged 22.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game on 48.0 percent shooting and 55.4 percent true shooting. He never won MVP, but he finished in the top-10 in MVP on eight separate occasions, including finishing third in 2008-09, his best season.
He led the NBA in scoring that year, scoring a career-most 30.2 points per game, in addition to averaging 5.0 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.2 blocks.
Wade is widely regarded as one of the league’s best two-way guards ever and the best shot-blocking guard. Wade has the most blocks (885) in NBA History for a guard listed at 6-foot-5 or shorter — 210 more than the next-most (Dennis Johnson).
The 13-time All-Star is 34th all-time in scoring, 48th all-time in assists, 32nd all-time in steals, 34th all-time in field goals made and 28th all-time in free throws made. If we’re shrinking the time frame to 2000-01, those numbers rank Nos. 4, 17, 5, 3 and 3, respectively. It’s easy to see why he cracked the top-10!
CBS Sports weighs in on Dwyane Wade v. James Harden debate:
One of the sillier online debates is who’s better between Dwyane Wade or James Harden. We’ve briefly touched on it here, but everyone has an opinion.
Wade made CBS Sports’ All-Century second team, while Harden made the third team. Here’s what Sam Quinn wrote on the decision:
“This one comes down to what you prioritize,” Quinn wrote. “Statistically, Harden laps Wade. He’s scored more points and has done so more efficiently. He’s a more prolific rebounder and assister. Harden is a three-time scoring champion. But Wade is a three-time NBA champion, and that’s where the biggest difference lies. Harden is actually a more prolific playoff scorer, but he has that nasty penchant for disappearing in the biggest moments. Wade doesn’t have those bizarre, single-digit closeout games on his résumé. Even if it was assisted by some pretty questionable officiating, his 2006 Finals performance was a spectacular, career-altering moment.
“Harden doesn’t have that. He doesn’t compare defensively, either, as Wade is the greatest shot-blocking guard of all time and was an absolute menace when he needed to be. Even if Harden’s list of regular-season accomplishments is unimpeachable, our voters trusted Wade more when it counted.”
Both players are supremely talented in their own way; both were well-suited for the eras they played in. But Wade’s more athletic, more creative inside-the-arc, a better defender and play finisher. You could argue that Wade is closer to Bryant than he is to Harden because of his two-way dynamism. You can’t say the same about Harden — and don’t even get me started on the playoffs.
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