Lebron James & Dwyane Wade vs. Kevin Durant & Russell Westbrook, Who's Better?
The Oklahoma City Thunder and the Miami Heat are two of the most talented teams in the NBA, and both are led by two superstar duos.
Heat superstars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are the highest scoring duo in the league, averaging an impressive 52.4 points per game.
The Thunder superstar duo of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook combine for 49.6 points per game, with Durant's average of 27.8ppg as the highest in the league.
It's clear that both these duos are capable of carrying their teams offensively each night, but how do they compare in other important statistical categories?
The difference between the two duos in many categories is closer than you might think.
So without further ado, let's compare the NBA's two best pairs, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook versus LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, to decide which duo is the best in the NBA.
Rebounding
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I've already shown each duo's scoring stats in the introductory slide, so I'll begin with a rebounding comparison.
A quick look at the combined rebounding averages shows a 2.5rpg edge for James and Wade over Durant and Westbrook.
But you must not forget that Westbrook is a point guard, a position that does not require a player to grab many rebounds.
Westbrook's rebounding ability makes him one of the best all-around guards in the NBA, and he is the top rebounding point guard in the NBA in terms of rebounds per game.
The Thunder also have better rebounding centers and power forwards than Miami. Nenad Krstic (now with Boston), Kendrick Perkins, Jeff Green (now with Boston) and Serge Ibaka are all big men who excel at rebounding.
The fact that Westbrook and Durant can rebound well with more competition for rebounds than Wade and James have to deal with on Miami is impressive.
- LeBron James: 7.5rpg Dwyane Wade: 6.5rpg Combined: 14rpg
- Kevin Durant: 6.9rpg Russell Westbrook: 4.6rpg Combined: 11.5rpg
Advantage: Durant and Westbrook
Passing Skill and Assists
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The fact that James and Wade have more combined assists per game than Westbrook and Durant, when neither James nor Wade is a point guard, is remarkable.
I understand Miami does not have a true point guard, but the quality of James and Wade's passing is very high.
James is one of the best passing forwards ever, although not quite the best—Larry Bird easily takes that battle.
Nonetheless, James and Wade have had to play point guard in many instances this season, and still have seen their career scoring and rebounding averages stay about the same or drop just a tiny bit.
Westbrook is a good passing point guard, but scoring is his best talent. While that's no hit on his passing abilities, he should be averaging around ten assists per game with the talent he has around him.
- LeBron James: 7.0apg Dwyane Wade: 4.5apg Combined: 11.5apg
- Kevin Durant: 2.8apg Russell Westbrook: 8.2apg Combined: 11.0apg
Advantage: James and Wade
Shooting Percentage (FG, 3-Pt, FT)
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While James and Wade have Westbrook and Durant beaten in field goal percentage, the Thunder duo has the Heat stars beaten in three-point and free-throw percentages.
Durant is one of the best foul shooters in the NBA, and has a career average around 88 percent.
Westbrook has improved his free-throw percentage a decent amount since his rookie season, and both him and Durant are clutch free-throw shooters.
James and Wade are both awful three-point shooters, and each time I see one of them attempt a three, I consider the defense the winner of that possession.
With James' size and strength, he should drive to the basket many more times than he takes outside shots.
Even though Durant and Westbrook's three-point percentages aren't amazingly higher than the Heat duo, both are considered dangerous shooters from deep, especially Durant.
Outside shooting has been the biggest improvement to Westbrook's game since his college days at UCLA.
- LeBron James: .509 FG, .331 3PT, .759 FT Dwyane Wade: .500 FG, .312 3PT, .750FT
- Kevin Durant: .460 FG, .351 3PT, .879 FT Russell Westbrook: .438 FG, .330 3PT, .839FT
Advantage: Durant and Westbrook
Defense (Steals and Blocks)
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Steals and blocks are not the only statistics of good or bad defense, but they are among the better ones. They are also key stats in helping determine the NBA's yearly all-defense selections.
James and Wade are two of the best defensive players in the league. Both are very physical defenders, and are good shot-blockers.
Wade has some of the best hands in the NBA, and is one of the best shot-blocking guards in the league.
Westbrook is fifth in the NBA in steals per game, but Durant's defense is not on par with his offensive talents.
Durant is not a terrible defender, but it's certainly an area he needs to work on to become a more complete player.
Many of James' blocks are the highlight chase-down blocks on fast breaks, but his defense has earned him multiple all-NBA defense selections.
- LeBron James: 1.5spg 0.6bpg Dwyane Wade: 1.4spg 1.1bpg
- Kevin Durant: 1.1spg 1.0bpg Russell Westbrook: 1.8spg 0.4bpg
Advantage: James and Wade
Value to Their Team
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LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are more valuable to the Miami Heat than Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant are to the Thunder.
James and Wade's rebounding, passing and defense means more to the Heat's chances of winning than Durant and Westbrook's skills mean to the Thunder.
Why? The Thunder are a deeper team in every area.
Even with Chris Bosh being the best third wheel either duo has, James and Wade must account for so much of the Heat's scoring because their bench is much weaker than Oklahoma City's.
Other than Mike Miller, who has struggled this season, and Udonis Haslem, who has missed most of the season to injury, the Heat don't have much offensive firepower off the bench.
The Thunder have several players who can make an immediate impact off the bench. Guards James Harden and Thabo Sefolosha are both very good outside shooters and solid one-on-one defenders.
The Thunder's frontcourt depth is also better than Miami's. OKC's frontline bench of Nick Collison, Nazr Mohammed, and Cole Aldrich, is better than Miami's Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Udonis Haslem, and Erik Dampier.
James and Wade must do more for the Heat to win games than Durant and Westbrook must do for the Thunder to be successful.
Which Duo Is Better?
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LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are currently the best duo in the NBA, but that title may not last for long.
Both Wade and James are in their primes, while Durant and Westbrook have yet to hit theirs.
Durant and Westbrook also play on a deeper, more rounded team, which means they do not have to contribute as much to win compared to what James and Wade must do for Miami to be successful.
This is not a knock on Durant and Westbrook of course, but by looking at the stats and performances of both duos, James and Wade are the better pair right now.
The Oklahoma City Thunder may be better prepared to win more titles than the Miami Heat over the next five to seven seasons, but, right now, Miami has the best superstar duo in the league.
