Dwyane Wade Vs. Gilbert Arenas- NBA Gauntlet

Note: this article first appeared on NBA Gauntlet on 8/10/08. In the poll there, Wade has 71% of the vote.

Pookie vs. Agent Zero

Born just 11 days apart, a case can be made for each player.

Dwyane Wade carried the 2005-2006 Miami Heat to an NBA championship, but his frequent injuries and inefficient three point shot have held him back.

Gilbert Arenas, a prolific blogger and Halo player, also happens to put up great stats. He missed most of the 2007-2008 season with a knee injury, but has been durable for most of his other seasons.

Since half of Gilbert’s games played last season were basically a rehab assignment, we’ll use 2006-2007 stats to compare the two. In that season, Arenas was All-NBA 2nd team, Wade was All-NBA 3rd team. The previous year, the honors were reversed.

Wade: 27.4 PPG, 7.5 APG, 4.7 RPG, 2.1 SPG

Arenas: 28.4 PPG, 6.0 APG, 4.6 RPG, 1.9 SPG

These numbers are certainly comparable. If you add in an argument about Wade’s higher FG%, you can counter with Gilbert’s better 3PT%. Wade assisted on a higher percentage of his possessions, but also turned the ball over far more.

Many of Wade’s teammates on the US Olympic team say he’s healthy and better than ever. But could he break down again? Arenas had a summer to recover from his latest injury. Will the upcoming season be a showcase of each star’s return to prominence?

Which charismatic superstar would you rather have on your team?