Dwyane Wade, An Appreciation Thread (MVP, finals, games, ESPN)
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Too bad he missed literally a Quarter of his NBA career.
This dude is vastly overrated. I watched his prime like everyone else. He was great, but not otherworldly, and he was ALWAYS HURT...
Being very generous, his prime was 2004-05 to 2015-16, all the years he put up a 20 PER or greater. That's 12 years, though realistically, I think a better argument can be made that his prime ended in the 2012-13 season, ring #3 for him. He was not the same guy after that season and was inconsistent in parts of that year. But '13 was the last consistently great Wade...
Wade missed an average of 16 games/year if we use the 12-yr prime, 15 using the 9-yr prime. Dude was a Top 5 MVP finalist only twice, and never higher than third...
Wade's popularity has been off the charts from Year 1, so we kinda mythologize his history. Dude was great but definitely a little overrated...
Wade's popularity has been off the charts from Year 1, so we kinda mythologize his history. Dude was great but definitely a little overrated...
Overrated by whom? ESPN ranked him as the 26th greatest player of all time behind Garnett, Durant, Curry, Baylor and Pippen among others. I think you could quibble with a couple of those players ranking ahead of him, but overall I think that's a fair assessment of where he stands relative to the other greats of the game. Dirk was ranked #16, and since a lot of people consider their overall career achievements to be comparable, I think the argument could be made that he might be underrated.
Overrated by whom? ESPN ranked him as the 26th greatest player of all time behind Garnett, Durant, Curry, Baylor and Pippen among others. I think you could quibble with a couple of those players ranking ahead of him, but overall I think that's a fair assessment of where he stands relative to the other greats of the game. Dirk was ranked #16, and since a lot of people consider their overall career achievements to be comparable, I think the argument could be made that he might be underrated.
Overrated by whom? ESPN ranked him as the 26th greatest player of all time behind Garnett, Durant, Curry, Baylor and Pippen among others. I think you could quibble with a couple of those players ranking ahead of him, but overall I think that's a fair assessment of where he stands relative to the other greats of the game. Dirk was ranked #16, and since a lot of people consider their overall career achievements to be comparable, I think the argument could be made that he might be underrated.
Not overrated by the media, they have him right. Basketball culture and fans overrate, the nostalgia over Wade in the last year bordered on fantastical...
Here are career scoring averages for players with a minimum of 1,000 games played.
Michael Jordan - 30.1
Wilt Chamberlain - 30.1
Lebron James - 27.2
Oscar Robertson - 25.7
Karl Malone - 25.0
Kobe Bryant - 25.0
Dominique Wilkins - 24.8
Kareem Abdul-Jabar - 24.6
Larry Bird - 24.3
Carmelo Anthony - 24.0
Shaquille O'Neal - 23.7
Charles Barkley - 22.1 Dwyane Wade - 22.0
Hakeem Olajuwon - 21.8
Alex English - 21.5
Patrick Ewing - 21.0
Elvin Hayes - 21.0
John Havlieck - 20.8
Dirk Nowitzki - 20.7
Not saying scoring is the end all, be all. But you combine his career scoring average with the rest of his accolades and I'd say you have a player who is no worse than being on the outside edge of the Top 20.
Not overrated by the media, they have him right. Basketball culture and fans overrate, the nostalgia over Wade in the last year bordered on fantastical...
Maybe. I feel like I paid less attention to the NBA this year than I have in previous years. But I think fans who are old enough will always remember him fondly for his "Flash" years and his sensational Finals MVP performance in 2006. While it is true he never won an MVP, he was definitely a Top 3 player in the League for a decent stretch. I remember watching him in 05-06 and thinking he was the closest thing I had seen to Jordan.
Here are career scoring averages for players with a minimum of 1,000 games played.
Michael Jordan - 30.1
Wilt Chamberlain - 30.1
Lebron James - 27.2
Oscar Robertson - 25.7
Karl Malone - 25.0
Kobe Bryant - 25.0
Dominique Wilkins - 24.8
Kareem Abdul-Jabar - 24.6
Larry Bird - 24.3
Carmelo Anthony - 24.0
Shaquille O'Neal - 23.7
Charles Barkley - 22.1 Dwyane Wade - 22.0
Hakeem Olajuwon - 21.8
Alex English - 21.5
Patrick Ewing - 21.0
Elvin Hayes - 21.0
John Havlieck - 20.8
Dirk Nowitzki - 20.7
Not saying scoring is the end all, be all. But you combine his career scoring average with the rest of his accolades and I'd say you have a player who is no worse than being on the outside edge of the Top 20.
22.0 PPG is impressive, but the NBA now is a new breed. When Wade came in, the game was different, it wasn't all 3 bombs and Stretch 5's, etc... Here in 5-10 years when the likes of Westbrook, Dame, the list could go on a bit, etc...but Wade will fade in most stat categories. Not saying that takes away from his career, but he's not THAT special.
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