MVPs: 0. Finals MVPs: 1. All-NBA 1st Team: 2. 2nd Team: 3. 3rd Team: 3. All Star: 13. MVP: 1.
Defensive POY: 0. All-Defense 1st Team: 0. 2nd Team: 3.
Points Champ: 1.
Career Averages: 22 PPG/ 5 RPG/ 5 APG/ 1.5 SPG/ .8 BPG/ .495 eFG%/ .765 FT%.
Best Season: 30/ 5/ 7/ 2.2/ 1.3/ .516/ .765 (2008-09).
Postseason Averages: 22 PPG/ 5 RPG/ 5 APG/ 1.5 SPG/ 1 BPG/ .490 eFG%/ .780 FT%.
Best Postseason: 28/ 6/ 6/ 2.2/ 1.1/ .512/ .808 (2006).
Championships: 3 (#1 player on 1, #2 player on 2). Runner-ups: 2 (#2 player on both).
Why he's below Steve Nash: Wade spent half his prime taking a back seat to LeBron. Both of Wade's deep playoff runs came with Shaq at the tail end of his prime, who was a better player than anyone Nash ever played with in Phoenix. Wade's only elite skill was getting to the basket and finishing, vs. Nash's elite shooting and passing. Some of what I highlight in the next section will come with the qualifier "for his size," and he was never a good shooter, never even improved as his career went on.
Why he's above the rest: Wade's 7 year run between the 04-05 and 10-11 seasons are one of the best stat-sheet fillers anyone has ever had. He averaged over 26 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.1 blocks over that span. He used his athleticism to jump passing lanes for steals and to set the record for career blocked shots by a player his size or shorter. And like with Pippen, Wade still deserves a lot of credit for making 4 trips to the Finals as the 2nd best player on a team behind one of the greatest players of all time. With LeBron handling most of the playmaking, Wade was able to focus on attacking the basket, posting the best eFG% and RPG totals of his career. He deserves a lot of credit for the second phase of his career, taking a back seat and being willing to do whatever it took to be a part of a winning team.
Highlights:
Game Video:
Comments